Bloodsport
by DiscordianSamba
Summary: On a mission to hold up his end of a bargain, Heiji and Kazuha arrive in America, searching for the truth behind a nearly twelve year old serial murder mystery. Crossing paths with another high school detective, they soon find themselves involved with a killer who has no intention of being caught- and has them in their crosshairs. (Sequel to Blood and Snow)
1. Portrait of a Dying Monster

AN: And here we have the start of the _Blood and Snow_ sequel, _Bloodsport_! It's definitely a different kind of story than the first one, and a different kind of case, especially since this one case will be the main focus of this fic, as opposed to having several different arcs with several different cases.

As I mentioned, this is in fact a sequel to a preexisting fanfic, so if you haven't read _Blood and Snow_ yet, you should really read that first! I'm really excited to start this work, so I hope that everyone really enjoys reading it! I'm making good use of the fact that I started _Blood and Snow_ way back when the Bourbon plot line was *just* getting started, to shift some details around timeline-wise accordingly.

Anyways, thanks for reading!

* * *

 **Bloodsport**

 **Chapter One**

 **Portrait of a Dying Monster**

* * *

"And here I almost thought you weren't going to come see me."

"Shut up." Heiji grumbled, casting an intense glower at the woman across from him, a pane of thick glass separating the two of them. Honestly, he didn't want to be here himself- and if he didn't have an obligation to this woman to fulfill, he wouldn't be. But unluckily for the high school detective of the west, he had just that. "I only came ta discuss the case. Nothin' more."

"My, so cold, Hattori- _chan_." As her deep green eyes danced with a hint of amusement, Okubo Karen's lips twitched into a sly grin. She looked for all the world as if she were not a prisoner at a high security prison, at ease with herself in a way most of the residents of said prison were not. "And here it was I who helped you so greatly. I'm amazed you got that past security, though." Her gaze flickered to the long bag that Heiji had rested against the side of his chair, knowing full well that it contained an item one would normally not allow into a prison- a sword.

One designed for a certain purpose in mind.

"A precaution." Heiji said shortly, eyes narrowing as he watched the expression of the woman behind the glass window shift. He didn't trust her in the least- she had, after all, tried to kill him not even four months ago. Her pupil had very nearly succeeded in doing so- if it hadn't been for his father's timely interruption, he probably would have died.

For a second time, he noted grimly, a hand unthinkingly straying up to his neck.

The season was well into summer now, a far cry away from the howling blizzard conditions in which he'd stumbled upon something that had altered the course of his life in a way he couldn't have even imagined at the start of the year. What was normal for the high school detective known as Hattori Heiji had completely changed, and he had already fully come to understand and accept that he would never be able to return to how things had been before this.

Considering the alternative was being dead, he supposed it wasn't that bad of a deal.

And to think, he'd been so blissfully unaware of the existence of vampires at the beginning of the year. Well, it wasn't exactly something he could deny now- his own ability to continue to survive in spite possessing no vital signs and his own dependence on human blood were testament enough to their solid, unquestionable existence.

"Ah, I see." Karen said, something in the way she spoke making his skin crawl. "So I take it you're going to properly follow through on your end of the bargain."

"A deal's a deal, even if I'm not the one who made it." Heiji said after a moment. His father had been the one who had arranged the deal with this woman, and even though he wanted to be somewhat annoyed at him, the scent of the new case it had provided him with was enough for him to let it go. His mother had been right- the deal wasn't anything he would have protested to himself. "I've already read all of the information that you had the old man gathered, what I want to know is what's _not_ on public record."

Karen's lips merely curled in a smile, a slight laugh escaping from them. "What if I told you there was nothing more to this case than what was already on public record?" She asked.

At her words, one of Heiji's eyebrows shot right up, almost unable to believe the woman's words. After all, if this was a case that Okubo Karen, a vampire hunter who had been sent to wipe out himself as well as the other vampires residing in Osaka, it was highly unlikely to be a normal case. At the very least, that was what he assumed when going over the case file. Given the rather grisly details of what he'd read, he'd almost automatically assumed that _someone_ deeply involved in the paranormal world had to be involved in these murders.

Internally grumbling a little as he realized just how used he had gotten to dealing with what he would have referred to as 'supernatural nonsense' not all that long ago, Heiji realized that he'd overlooked the very real possibility that this case had _nothing_ to do with the supernatural at all. A cold case, a chain of murders that stretched back at least twelve years, one that was important enough to this woman that she was willing to sell out someone important to her guild over it.

A case that took place not in Japan, but on distant shores- American shores, as it turned out. It would mark the first time the Osakan detective would ever go overseas to solve a case, and honestly, he was more than a little excited about it.

"So it's a human." Heiji said after a moment, scratching the back of his head. "Why didn't ya just say that in the first place?"

"I didn't assume you'd think it would be a monster." Karen said simply, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm more or less the one who lead Claire marching to her death, I thought the least I could do for her was resolve the case of her aunt's murder."

"The one you _claimed_ was a vampire attack." Heiji pointed out, arching a brow. "That's how ya got her ta join ya in the first place, wasn't it?"

"It wasn't _I_ who claimed such things. 'Twas my mother." Karen said, a slight sound of offense in her voice. "And really, what do you think would have been easier for a girl her age to accept? That her beloved aunt had been killed by a monster, or murdered in such a fashion by a human?"

"Monster." Heiji half-mumbled underneath his breath, not really wanting to admit that the woman had a point. "Well, like I promised, I'll investigate it properly. The culprit's escaped this long from justice, but I'll see to it that they're put firmly behind bars. But don't get me wrong, Okubo-han," he said, rising to his feet, picking up the long bag and slinging it over his shoulders. "I'm not doin' it fer ya."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Hattori- _chan_." Karen observed. "I wish you luck though."

"I'm sure ya do." Narrowing his eyes, Heiji turned on his heel and exited the room. Even if there was no real supernatural creature involved in this case, there was still a monster, he thought.

The worst kind of monster- the one known as a serial murderer.

* * *

Toyama Kazuha felt as if she had been holding her breath ever since they entered the airport. As they finally passed through the airport security line without any problems, she felt her shoulders slump, tension washing out from them as she let out her long held breath. Her heart that had been pounding loudly in her chest finally began to return to it's regular rhythm.

"See? I told ya it would be alright." Heiji said, quirking a brow as he looked over towards her. He slightly shifted his grip on the long case he carried with him, one which Kazuha shot a look towards.

"Even if you tell me something like that, Heiji, I still can't believe you managed to get a sword through airport security. They didn't even take a second look at it!" Kazuha whispered, keeping her voice low enough so that only he could hear her. "I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest!"

"Well, they didn't know what it was." Heiji said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "Thank Mitsuta-han fer that. She was the one who gave me the concealin' charms. It was either this, or we take the portal, an' I know how ya feel about the portal, Kazuha. Well," He admitted after a moment, casting his girlfriend a slight smile. "Honestly, I was a bit worried about it myself."

"I don't see why you need to bring it with you in the first place, if what we're going after actually isn't a supernatural creature this time." Kazuha noted. Since she had insisted on going with him, Heiji had given her a rundown of exactly what she was going to get herself into, the details of which still sent a shiver down her spine. It never made her second guess going with him, however.

"Ya can never be too careful." Heiji told her, shrugging his shoulders. "Fer all we know, I could run into somethin' nasty while we're there that's got nothin' ta do with the case. I've never been to America, I have no idea what's waitin' fer me there. Especially since we're goin' ta goddamn _Nebraska_ first thing."

"I keep telling you Heiji, Nebraska's a real place." Raising a brow, her gaze slid over towards her boyfriend. She still remembered how adamant he'd been as a child back when they had learned about America in geography that the state of Nebraska apparently wasn't real- an idea that she had no idea where he'd gotten in the first place, and still had no clue as to why he'd ever thought such a thing. "I can't believe you're still being stubborn about that now."

"Doesn't feel like a real place." Heiji muttered underneath his breath, his eyes narrowing a little. "Well, it doesn't matter anyways. Are ya really sure about comin' with me, Kazuha? I don't know how long this case'll take, and I don't know what kind of risks we'll be runnin' into with it. Ya still got time ta turn back now."

"I'm sure." Kazuha's tone was sharp and decisive. She'd already long since made up her mind. Immortal vampire or not, she couldn't help but be worried about Heiji, especially when he was running off to some distant country that he had never been to before. "You can't get rid of me that easily, Heiji."

"M'not really tryin' ta get rid of ya." Heiji told her with a small frown. "I just wanna make sure ya understand what yer gettin' yerself into here. Aren't you supposed to be the one who's scared of this type of thing anyways?"

"I'm only scared of what I don't understand." Kazuha said simply, linking her arm with Heiji's. She had already gotten used to the chill of his corpse-like body temperature. It didn't really bother her anymore, something she had already long since come to accept. "If these murders were caused by a human like you said, I don't have anything to be afraid of. I can't take them down with my aikido, if need be."

Of course, she'd been shocked when she discovered that her childhood friend had become something other than human- but Heiji was Heiji, and even if he was a vampire, it wasn't like anything truly important about him had changed. He was very much still the same reckless, hotheaded detective idiot that she'd fallen in love with over time, and that was all that mattered to her really. She knew it weighed more heavily on him than he would like to admit, much as he had come to accept his situation, but she knew that with time, even this would ease.

"I suppose that's true!" Heiji grinned. "They'd have ta be a real idiot to attack someone like ya in the first place though, Kazuha!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kazuha asked, shooting him a look. "You're making it sound like I'm some kind of brute."

"Oh, yer not?" Heiji blinked, a teasing expression on his face. "That's news ta me!"

"Shut up, idiot." Kazuha glowered at him, elbowing him in the side, something which only caused him to laugh. Quickly flashing him a smile in return, Kazuha shook her head. She couldn't help but feel like their relationship had markedly improved since all of this had happened- if there was one plus to her childhood friend having been turned into a member of the bloodsucking undead, it was definitely the fact that the two of them had gotten closer because of it. There was, of course, also the small fact that they had started dating- although quite honestly, that hadn't been as big of a change between the two of them as she had at first expected.

"Ah, don't fall asleep on the plane though, Heiji." Kazuha reminded him. "It'll be trouble for me if you do."

"Don't worry, I won't." Heiji promised her. "Ah, this is our terminal. Ya want anythin' ta eat? I'll go fetch it fer ya right quick if ya do."

"Mm, then how about a coffee?" Kazuha asked. "And maybe one of those pastry things they got... something sweet."

"What's even the point of a pastry if it's not sweet?" Heiji asked with a small frown, before leaning down to kiss her quickly on the forehead. "I'll be right back with them, okay?" Waving a hand, he hurried off, leaving Kazuha to watch his retreating back.

When she looked at him like this, it was almost hard for her to imagine that he'd been changed in the way he had. There was no going back for him, it was a fact that the two of them had come to fully understand and accept together. Eventually their relationship would hit a hiccup in the future- she would keep growing older, while Heiji would forever remain the way he was now. But it was something that they had decided to worry about in the future, and for the moment, they had just decided to enjoy each other's company in the now.

Whatever happened, she would never abandon him, Kazuha thought, a small frown on her face. Not until she drew her dying breath, not until she was literally _forced_ to by the limits of her all too mortal, all too human body. That wasn't something that she liked to think on either- about what would happen to Heiji when the day came that everyone he knew and loved would finally pass away, leaving him alone with a life span that could possibly stretch on into eternity.

Maybe they would adopt some kids when they older, she thought. And maybe she'd vigorously encourage said kids to have some grandchildren. That sounded like a very reasonable contingency plan, she thought to herself, nodding her head.

"What are ya thinkin' about with such a serious look on yer face?" Heiji asked, placing a cup of coffee in her hands, setting a donut down on her lap.

"Hey, Heiji, do you want grandchildren?" Kazuha asked, looking up at him.

The shocked expression that crossed his face, mixed with bright red of his cheeks was pretty cute, she thought. "W-what are you sayin'?! Besides from the sound of it, ya've already assumed we're goin' ta have children at some point!"

"What's wrong with that? It's not _impossible_ , right?" Kazuha said simply, shrugging her shoulders as she took an innocent sip of her coffee. She wouldn't tell him it was because she was worried about him, of course. Well, he probably wouldn't figure that out on his own. Great detective he might be, he was still amazingly dense when it came to other people's feelings. "Well, at the very least not until I'm out of college and we're married, though. Ah, speaking of which, Heiji, have ya decided what yer gonna do about college?"

Geez, this girl. Bringing up something like that and then changing the topic on him just as quick. Grumbling a little, Heiji took a seat next to her, drinking some of his own coffee before he answered. "I was thinkin' of maybe a trade school or somethin'. I figure I'd stick out less at a two year school than I would a four year school. 'Sides, it might be interestin' ta learn how ta actually make motorcycles or somethin' like that, so I was thinkin' about lookin' towards somethin' in that regard. The old man seems okay with it as long as I at least go ta _some_ kind of college."

"Well, it'll give ya something to fall back on if this whole detective thing of yours doesn't pan out." Lightly teasing her longtime friend, Kazuha laughed a little as Heiji shot her a dirty look. "I don't imagine our teachers will take it very well though. With your reputation, I think they were planning on you going to a proper college somewhere and entering properly into law enforcement. Maybe take after your father."

"Yeah well _that's_ not gonna happen." Heiji snorted in spite of himself, shaking his head. "There's only so long ya can stretch bein' baby faced, people would realize somethin' weird was goin' on eventually."

His reputation though, huh... It had taken a hit ever since that nasty vampire hunter business- not to mention what had come several months after it. It was strange to think that they had only wrapped up that case only three weeks ago now- it already felt like it had been so long ago. With the vampire that had turned him in the first place now properly sealed away again, Heiji was starting to slowly feel more comfortable in his own skin again, knowing that the creature he had accidentally set free could no longer harm anyone else.

But they had done their damage well enough, and rumors were already flying around Osaka that the famous high school detective, Hattori Heiji, was something other than human. He imagined things would eventually settle down given time, but it was something that he found difficult to deal with. He was already bad with people talking about him behind his back in the first place, and now thanks to his increased hearing, it was almost impossible to escape from the rumors.

That said, it was the rumors about _Kazuha_ that pissed him off the most. Like she would really be the type to be tricked! If he really _had_ turned into some kind of monster, he was pretty sure that Kazuha wouldn't have gone along with him so easily, childhood friend or not.

But he wasn't a monster. He'd nearly come close to becoming one- but thankfully, he'd been saved from that fate. He could only hope that something like that would _never_ happen again.

* * *

The sensation of Kazuha resting her head on his shoulder briefly drew Heiji's thoughts away from the files he had been going over. Glancing down towards her, he noticed with a small smile that she had drifted off to sleep. It wasn't any surprise that she was tired- they'd woken up early that morning to catch their flight, after all, and they had barely managed to make their connecting flight thanks to a mishap at the airport. It wouldn't have been as much of a problem were it not for the fact that the terminal for their connecting flight had been on the other end of the airport entirely. Once they reached their destination, he would probably let her get some proper rest first thing. This was her first time flying overseas, and there was no doubt that she'd soon be feeling the effects of jet lag.

Come to think of it, it was also his first time overseas as well. Did vampires get jet lag?

Well, for the moment he'd let her sleep, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest with no uncertain amount of fondness in his eyes. He couldn't help but treasure the quiet moments like these between them- not that it would ever be something he'd admit out loud, he thought to himself, a slight tint of pink rising to his cheeks as he averted his gaze from her, turning his full attention back towards the case files in front of him.

It really was a nasty case, he thought, eyes narrowing at the photographs that had been included with the files. The grisly nature of the crime scenes were bad enough by themselves, but that wasn't the thing about this case that caused Heiji's gut to twist.

That would be the paintings.

Even from the small photographs provided of the paintings in question, even he could tell that they appeared to be grand, sweeping, and rather massive fantasy-like scenes, carefully painted with a delicate hand and a fine eye for details. They wouldn't be out of place in any art gallery in the world, were it not for the fact that the scenes they depicted had very clearly been taken from the murder scenes that the culprit left behind.

The first painting had arrived at the local police department three months after the first murder. Comparing it to the crime scene photographs of Claire Grady's murdered aunt, it was hard to miss that the scene of the murder had clearly been set up with the deliberate intent to use as a grandiose and morbid reference for the painting that followed. They had found the first victim, a woman by the name of Marie Grady, in the dining room of her own home. She had clearly died from blood loss, blood having been drained freely from her neck, staining the entire left side of her body as it was left to flow freely outwards. Judging from the autopsy, it seemed like she had been conscious at first, and had been allowed to slowly die of blood loss, forced to watch it seep out onto her clothes.

Clothes that weren't her own, at least not according to the family, who had never seen the almost antique looking black lace dress that she had been wearing ever before. The entire crime scene had been carefully structured by the culprit, everything arranged in neat order most likely as the victim slowly died. Seated at her own dining room table, the table had been neatly set, several places made out, as if set up for tea, candles arranged and lit. Perhaps the most grim detail of all was the fact that the tea cups and tea kettle alike had been filled with blood- analysis of which had proven it to be the animal's blood.

The painting had been entitled 'The Vampire's Last Tea Party', fittingly enough. The scene depicted in the painting, though clearly referenced from the murder scene itself, had been twisted into a fantasy-like image of a vampire woman sitting dead at the head of her table, painted in dark tones and colors.

It was the beginning of a serial murder spree, and this had been the first of four corpses and four paintings. The murders had stretched out over four years, with a murder for every year, with the killer seeming to cross the country. After starting with the small town in Nebraska, they moved to an entirely different setting- the bustling city of New York, before heading towards the state of Florida, and finally arriving in Virginia, where the last murder had taken place.

At least, it _had_ been the last murder, Heiji thought to himself, shuffling through the papers. There had been another one recently, one that the police weren't certain was the work of the same culprit until the painting arrived several months later. The location of the murder this time had been in America's capital itself. It wasn't the final body either- another corpse had turned up in Georgia a month after the painting had been sent, and although a painting had yet to arrive of the scene, there was no doubt it was the same culprit.

A copycat would have been impossible. Information about the case had been restricted from the public from the very beginning. The fact that there had been elaborate paintings made from the crime scenes was not something anyone knew outside of the police and the FBI- as well as an art analyst who had been called in to study the paintings, who had been able to confirm that most likely the person who had painted the first four paintings had also painted the fifth.

Six corpses, five paintings, with one likely on it's way. An eight year gap between the fourth murder and the fifth murder. A murderer who had no shortage of artistic talent, who had decided to put it to horrifying use.

The Vampire's Last Tea Party. The Final Full Moon. The Fae Queen's Unfortunate Mischief. The Last Dance of the Devil. The Death Cry of the Banshee. Even without looking at the paintings themselves, the names made it crystal clear what kind of theme the culprit was going for here. The final corpse, with it's head neatly placed in it's hands, eyes left wide open, had been set upon the corpse of a headless horse, arranged as if she had been riding across the countryside. A dullahan, more than likely.

It was easy to understand how one could think that it was the work of one who was a monster themselves. Drawing in a breath, Heiji shut the file, carefully tucking it back away into his bag. He'd already gone over them page for page, word for word any number of times- with a case that had shaped up to be something this big, it was important that he knew what he was getting himself into.

Pausing to glance back down towards Kazuha, he carefully reached out towards her, placing his hand on her own. The warmth of his hand was so different from that of his own, and it was entirely for that reason that he found it so comfortable a place for his own. Lightly resting his head on top of her own, he closed his own eyes, mimicking the motions of breathing himself, just in case anyone got the wrong idea from a casual glance towards him.

Kazuha's side was a nice place to be, he thought to himself. He didn't want to lose his place there.

* * *

As she pulled off her motorcycle helmet, Kazuha shook her head a little, trying to steady herself. She was still overcome what she was quickly realizing to be jet lag, still exhausted even though she had gotten a good bit of sleep on the flight over here. Perhaps clinging to Heiji's back and riding on a motorcycle behind him for a solid hour had not been among her better ideas. The vehicle in question was apparently on loan from one of Mitsuta's friends- apparently her network extended all the way out here.

It was convenient, at any rate, and saved them from having to pay to rent one. Letting out a loud yawn, she glanced back towards Heiji, watching as he dug their things out from the storage compartment, tossing Kazuha her bag. Catching it neatly, she tucked her helmet underneath one arm, giving him a small smile.

"Ya still tired?" Heiji asked, pulling his own bag over his shoulder. "Ya can rest all ya want when we get our room, Kazuha. Ya don't have ta force yerself ta come with me. I'll go on ahead an' check out the police station myself after we get settled in."

"I'll think I'll do that." Kazuha told him, following behind him into the small hotel, which appeared to more or less be the only one in the city. "Flying overseas takes a lot out of you. How are you holding up, Heiji?"

"Except fer the fact that I'm dead, I'm perfectly fine." Heiji told her, flashing her a wide grin that let her know that it was just a joke. "Probably fer the best at any rate. Let me go get our room right quick." Heading towards the front desk, he briefly chatted with the clerk, slipping into English that was nearly flawless.

Maybe he should consider trying to pick up some other languages, he thought to himself as he watched the clerk search for the room keys. It might come in handy when the time came for him to uproot himself from a normal life entirely- besides, who knew where his new line of work in being something of a detective for the supernatural world would lead him?

Nebraska, apparently, for the time being. After he wrapped up things here, he and Kazuha would be following another connection that Conan had arranged for him once he'd learned the details of the case for himself- but Heiji had wanted to check out his first crime scene for himself. The contact Conan had touched base with was supposed to meet him here tomorrow, but he was going to do some investigating of his own before then.

Taking the keys from the desk clerk, he passed one off to Kazuha. Finding their room wasn't hard- there weren't many in the hotel after all. At the very least he could enter his own hotel room without needing anyone to invite him inside, he noted, stepping through the door with no problems. Glancing around the room to make sure everything seemed to be in order, he gave a quick nod, setting down his bag. For the moment, he'd leave the sword here, he thought, resting it against the bed he doubted he was going to use very much.

"I'm just gonna pass out right here." Kazuha mumbled to herself, flopping down on her bed. "G'night, Heiji. Don't get yourself into trouble now."

"When have I _ever_ gotten myself into trouble?" Heiji asked, a mock look of offense on his face.

"That one time you went off to search for a kidnapping victim and came back a vampire." Kazuha muttered, turning her head so that she could give him a smile. "Remember that to these cops, you're probably just some weird foreign kid sticking his nose into business that he has nothing to do with."

"I'll remember, don't ya fret." Heiji noted, pulling the few things he thought he would need from his bag and sticking them in his jacket pockets. "Sleep tight, Kazuha." Switching off the lights as he left the room, he paused for a moment, watching as Kazuha curled herself more up on the bed. Carefully closing the door behind him, he made his way downstairs, heading back to the borrowed motorcycle. As he switched the engine back on, he couldn't help but notice that his was not the only motorcycle in the parking lot, and idly wondering what other guest staying here was driving one.

The trip to the police station was a short one, and after securing his motorcycle, Heiji headed into the station, glancing around for someone who looked useful. Karen had promised him that she'd arranged for someone to meet him for at least this leg of his trip, but all he knew of the man he was supposed to meet was his name. One of the officers took notice of him, pausing to glance down at something on his desk, before he got up, quickly approaching the Osakan detective.

"Pardon me, but you wouldn't happen to be Heiji Hattori, would you?" The man who spoke to him addressed him in English, but given the way he seemed to recognize him, he was willing to bet this was the person that Karen had wanted him to meet. Judging from the look on his face, she probably hadn't included the 'he's a vampire I tried to kill once' bit in whatever she might have told this officer about him.

"That's me." Flashing him a quick grin, Heiji offered him a hand, which the man took, giving it a firm shake, a brief expression of confusion crossing his face at the teen's body temperature. "I take it ya must be Roger Fuller."

"That's correct." The man nodded his head. "I must say, your English is very good. But I suppose we should get to the main point- you've come to see the case file and the painting, haven't you?"

"That's right." Nodding his head, Heiji tucked his hands back into his pockets, glancing around the station. "I take it this place doesn't really see a crime like _that_ all that often."

"Hardly." Roger said, shaking his head. "I had just joined the force back then. It was my first case." He noted, a slightly sour tone to his voice. "It leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth. This way." Leading him to his desk, he passed over what appeared to be a copy of the case file towards Heiji. "This is for you. As for the painting, it's downstairs."

"There's nowhere else to put it _except_ for the basement, really. Honestly, we all half wish that the FBI would just take it off our hands finally." Roger noted, leading Heiji down towards the basement area, pausing to unlock the door and switch on the lights.  
"I'm sure you've seen photographs of it, but let me assure you, it's probably much larger than you anticipated."

"Oh?" Heiji blinked, tucking the file underneath his arm, following him downstairs. He half wanted to ask what his connection to the vampire hunter was- half wanting to fish out information about that guild of Karen's while he was here. But if he started asking questions in that regard, he had a feeling that whatever silent truce the guild in question had established in regards to him for the moment, it would quickly be thrown out the window.

"Well," Roger said, standing in front of an large rectangular object, which was a good three heads taller than him, and had been covered with a cloth. He couldn't help but note that judging from the look of the dust, it had actually been removed- and very recently at that. Finding that curious, his brows knitted in thought, watching as Roger pulled the cloth off it once more, revealing the painting hidden within.

To be perfectly frank, Heiji really didn't understand all that much about art. But even he could tell a talented painter when he saw one- the attention to detail and the overall composition were nothing short of breathtaking. And considering the scale of the painting, it must have taken quite some time to paint, bit by bit- no wonder it had only shown up three months after the first murder. Realizing that he was a bit too close, actually, to take it in all at once, Heiji took a step back.

Although beautifully painted, it was still a macabre scene, even when one didn't know that it had been painted after an actual murder scene. Opening up the file in his hands, he brought up the photograph of the victim, comparing it to the face of the woman in the picture, whose eyes stared lifelessly off into the distance. There was no mistake- they were definitely the same woman.

"Horrible, right?" Roger asked, shaking his head. "Whatever happened to hiring models to pose for you, huh?"

"It's definitely pretty grisly." Heiji noted, suddenly almost glad that Kazuha had stayed behind at the hotel. She probably wouldn't have cared for seeing something like this in person. Pulling out his cellphone, he snapped a number of photos of it from various angles, just in case he needed to look at them later. Tucking it back away, he nodded towards Roger, indicating that he was done with it.

Grateful to hide it away from sight again, Roger quickly secured the cloth back over it, glancing over towards him. "You're going to check out the scene of the crime after this, right? The family hasn't touched that place in twelve years, not since it happened. The key's upstairs, if you'll follow me back up."

"Has anyone else asked to come look at the painting recently?" Heiji asked, glancing back down towards it. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the officer looking slightly surprised at the question.

"Yes, there was someone just this morning. Another Japanese teenager, actually." Roger noted with a small frown. "They wanted to see the case file too, but I refused to show it to them- but they didn't want to leave until they had at least been able to see the painting, so I let them take a look at it. They said something about being some kind of high school detective."

"A high school detective?" Heiji blinked, tilting his head. The first person who sprang to mind was Hakuba Saguru- but from the way the person in question had been described, he doubted it was him. Given the reach of his father, he'd have no issues with accessing whatever it was that he wanted.

It definitely _wasn't_ Kudo.

Granted, there very well could be plenty of other high school detectives running around, especially in a country this big. It wasn't that strange that a case this big might have caught the attention of anyone who knew about it. Still, the timing was more than a little curious. Whatever the case, it caught his attention more than a little.

"Did ya get their name?" Heiji asked, watching as Roger opened up his desk and fished out a key. Taking it from him, Heiji tucked it into his jacket pocket, waiting for an answer.

"They said their name was Sera, I believe. I didn't catch their first name." The officer told him, shaking his head. "There's a chance that you might run into them when you're looking around for yourself, so you should probably keep your eyes open. I doubt they're up to anything bad, however, you can never be too careful. Normally we wouldn't be handing over something like that," he said, pointing towards the case file tucked underneath Heiji's arm. "...to just anyone, but since it was Miss Okubo who recommended you, I'm making an exception."

"Thanks fer that." Nodding his head, Heiji cast a look around the station, before turning back towards Roger. "Well, if there's nothin' else ya need from me, I'll be on my way then. I'll touch base with ya if I dig anythin' up, though."

Exchanging a brief goodbye with the man, Heiji exited the station. Securing the file folder within his motorcycle's storage compartment, he pulled out the key he had been given for a moment, before stuffing it back inside his pocket. For the moment, he'd head back towards the hotel to look over the case file, before checking out the scene of the crime for himself. It wasn't often that you ran into a twelve year old crime scene that had been left intact- he should probably be grateful that Claire's family had all but decided to wash their hands of that place.

Seeing the painting that had been the true start of it all had really sent the fact that he was about to step into something big straight home to Heiji. And even though he had to admit that the feeling was _slightly_ intimidating, it was in no way enough to make him back down, deal or no deal. He could hardly call himself a detective if he backed down just because there was a chance that things might get a little dangerous.

When you were functionally immortal anyways, what was the _worst_ thing that could possibly happen?


	2. Masumi Sera

AN: Chapter two is here, and with it, it brings the introduction of everyone's favorite female high school detective! Or at least, she should be everyone's favorite, let's be real here. If Gosho won't give us Heiji and Sera interaction, then I will make it happen myself! To clarify a little on this fic's timeline, it obviously takes place _before_ Sera arrives in Japan in the canon timeline, but _after_ her brother's death.

Anyways, thanks for reading! Please leave a review if you can, I love hearing from you guys!

* * *

 **Bloodsport**

 **Chapter Two**

 **Masumi Sera**

* * *

If Ran hadn't pointed it out to him, Heiji probably would have never noticed the completely noiseless manner in which he moved now. It was something she had brought up in private, carefully asking him if it were something he'd noticed himself or not- and to his great embarrassment, he found himself admitting that he hadn't. He was aware that his movements had become _quieter_ \- but he hadn't been aware that he made no sound _at all_. It was a little disconcerting to think about, but when it came to sneaking into a hotel room you were sharing with your soundly sleeping girlfriend without waking her, what was somewhat unnerving suddenly became a huge asset.

Pausing briefly to cast a fond look towards the slumbering form of Kazuha, Heiji carefully took a seat, placing the copy of the case file he'd gotten on the desk in front of him. Being able to see in the dark was a huge boon as well- there were things he hated about having become a vampire, sure enough, but it wasn't like it was entirely without it's benefits. Still, he'd trade those away in a heartbeat if offered a chance to become human again, however impossible such a thing was.

Opening up the case file, Heiji carefully scanned the contents, making note of what scant bits of information it contained that the one his father had managed to acquire for him didn't. Sometimes it was those little tidbits that could make or break a case, after all. He'd be able to access even more information when he met up with Conan's contact tomorrow, but for now he needed to gather everything that he could himself. The faster he solved this case the better, he thought to himself. He'd already missed an entire month of school due to his previous case, so he didn't want this case to extend too much past the summer holidays.

It seemed silly to worry so much about high school, in light of his circumstances, but he had a very short window now in which he could continue to live a normal life- and he wasn't about to let the chance pass him by. He _did_ actually want to graduate from high school properly with Kazuha, if nothing else. There would be a lot of uncertainties in their life after that, but he was sure they would work something out when the time came. Once the people around him began to notice that he'd apparently stopped aging would be where it would start to get tricky.

But that was neither here nor there, he thought, paging through the case file. Picking up the sound of Kazuha stirring in the background, he shut it, glancing back towards her. "Ah, sorry. Did I wake ya?"

"No." Shaking her head, Kazuha pushed herself off the bed, letting out another loud yawn. "When did ya come back, Heiji?"

"Just a few minutes ago." Heiji told her, leaning back in his chair. "Ya don't have ta worry about me, Kazuha, ya can sleep more if ya need ta."

"It's fine." Giving him a small smile, Kazuha got up off her bed. "I can't just sleep all day, jet lag be damned. Have ya visited the crime scene yet?"

"No. I was goin' ta go check it out after this." Heiji noted. "Ya wanna come along?"

"That would probably be for the best." Kazuha said, flashing him a smile that had a hint of mischief in it. "After all, what if ya got there an' found that you couldn't even enter the house?"

"Idiot, I was given the keys. That's permission if I've ever heard of it." Grumbling slightly at her, Heiji came to realize that Kazuha was _never_ going to let go of those times when he had to call her to come help him out because he found himself absolutely unable to enter certain crime scenes. Of all the vampire legends to be true, needing to have permission to enter a residence was definitely one of the more annoying ones, especially when it came to being a detective.

"So you say." Kazuha said simply, shrugging her shoulders as she made her way towards him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, leaning down so that their faces were on the same level. "Ya need a bite before we head out, Heiji?"

"Nah, I'm fine fer the moment." Shaking his head, Heiji glanced over towards her. "Besides, I don't think combinin' jet lag with wooziness from havin' yer blood drained is _exactly_ the best of ideas."

"You've got a point there." Kazuha admitted, giving him a slight nod of her head. "But well, ya should be careful if you go out looking for a bite ta eat that's not from me, Heiji. Small town America is one of the worst places to have it be discovered you're a vampire." She told him, removing her arms from around his shoulders and standing up straight, wagging a finger as if lecturing him. "I read that in a magazine."

"What kinda magazines ya readin' now anyways, Kazuha?" Heiji asked, arching a brow.

"There are plenty of good publications out there for vampires. I had Mitsuta-san sign me up for a few." Kazuha noted. "It's important to stay on top of such information. I get them in the mail every month via a delivery bat."

"Ya made that last part up, didn't ya." Heiji said.

"Yes. They come in the mail just like everything else." Flashing him a quick grin, Kazuha leaned down, giving him a quick peck on the lips, before stepping back. "Well, I'm awake more or less now, so do you want to go on and check out the crime scene? I'll bet it's going to be amazingly dusty if it really hasn't been touched in twelve years."

"Well I suppose that's one way of lookin' at it." Getting to his feet, Heiji grabbed the keys to his motorcycle, glancing back towards her. "Ya might wanna fix yer bed head before ya go anywhere though, Kazuha."

At the mention of her hair, Kazuha briefly reached up a hand, realizing far too late that she'd fallen asleep with her ribbon still in. Hurrying over towards the bathroom, she quickly fussed to herself at the disarray that she'd found her hair in. "Geez, tell me things like that sooner, idiot!"

With her hair properly fixed, and her room key tucked into her pocket, Kazuha grabbed her own helmet, following Heiji down towards the lobby. Briefly stopping to grab her a quick cup of coffee in the lobby, the pair soon made their way back out into the parking lot. As he looked around, Heiji couldn't help but notice that the other motorcycle from earlier wasn't there anymore- it had still been parked at the hotel when he had returned back from the police station.

The house belonging to the victim was a little ways out of town, and although they'd gotten a little turned around once, the pair eventually made their way there without too many mishaps. As he drove up, Heiji quickly noticed that something was amiss- namely the fact that the missing motorcycle from the hotel parking lot was now located here. Even past the roar of the engine of his own, Heiji could still make out the sound of someone looking around the house.

One of the windows, he noticed, was partially open.

"Looks like someone got here ahead of us." Heiji noted, parking his motorcycle and pulling off his helmet, glancing towards the house. Recalling what the police officer had said about the other person who'd shown up calling themselves a high school detective, he frowned slightly, willing to bet almost anything that this was them.

"Who do you think it could be? I wouldn't think there's anything left in the house to steal." Kazuha frowned a little, pulling off her own helmet as she stepped off the back of the motorcycle.

"If my hunch is right, it's someone who's the same as me." Heiji told her, a broad grin appearing on his face- before he paused, doubling back on his statement. "That is, they're a high school detective. Not a vampire. Probably."

"A high school detective?" Kazuha asked, blinking a little. "I guess they have those in America as well. But what makes ya think that, Heiji?"

"Back at the station, the officer I talked ta said that there was someone else who came by askin' ta look at the paintin' an' the case file. An' it looks like they've decided to help themselves ta lookin' over the crime scene as well." Flashing Kazuha another grin, Heiji rested his helmet on top of the motorcycle. "Wanna go say hi, Kazuha? They probably heard us drive up, from the sound of it."

"Be _nice_ , Heiji." Kazuha warned him.

"When am I ever not nice?" Huffing to himself, Heiji pulled out the keys to the place, heading with Kazuha towards the house. Catching the curtains of one of the rooms upstairs twitching a little, he quickly guessed that they were being watched from up there. Truthfully, he couldn't help but be more than a little curious as to what sort of person this 'Sera' was- but the thing he was more interested in was the _timing_ of their appearance here. It could very well be a coincidence, but it was more than enough to strike his interest.

"You antagonize that poor Hakuba fellow every time you meet." Kazuha couldn't help but note.

"That's because he's a _jerk_." Heiji grumbled to himself, quickly unlocking the door and heading into the house. He could make out the sounds of footsteps coming from upstairs, and as he stepped inside, he turned his head in the direction of them, deciding to cut right to the chase. "Oi, I already know yer here! Ya might as well come out already!"

"Well, if you're going to so openly call out to me, I suppose I might as well come down and introduce myself."

Turning their attention up towards the top of the stairs, the direction from which the voice had come from, Heiji and Kazuha watched as someone around their age descended the staircase. With what could be best described as a bird's nest of short, unruly black hair, and gray-green eyes that were more than just a little striking, the high school detective in question seemed to greet them both with a friendly expression. "I promise you, I'm not a burglar."

"I didn't think ya were." Heiji said, flashing them a wide grin, all but sticking out his hand. "I heard about ya from the officer back at the station. From the sound of it, yer in the same line of work that I am. I'm Hattori Heiji. This over here is Toyama Kazuha."

"Sera Masumi." Taking his hand and giving it a firm shake, only the briefest hint of surprise crossed their face at the abnormally cold temperature of his hand. "Then, from the sound of it, you're a high school detective too."

"Pretty much!" Nodding his head, Heiji's grin only grew all the wider. "I take it yer here ta look into the serial murders as well, Sera-han."

"That I am." Inclining their head, Sera matched his grin with one of her own. "But it sounds like you've come from quite a bit further away than I. You're speaking with an Osakan dialect, if I'm not mistaken. What brings someone like you all the way out here?"

"It caught my interest." Heiji said simply, deciding to leave out the fact that he was looking into the matter as a personal favor to a condemned criminal. "Kazuha an' I came here to look deeper into the matter. But what about you, Sera-han?"

"They caught my interest as well." Sera said simply, sensing that there was something the young man in front of her was leaving out. There was something about him that perked her interest as a detective right away, although she couldn't quite put her finger on why that might be- only that there was something rather curious about him. It wasn't a feeling that the girl by his side seemed to give off as well, at any rate.

She had her own reasons for looking into this case herself, but if her fellow high school detective wasn't going to get into his deeper reasons, then she would keep her own to herself.

"But I'm surprised that you managed to get the keys to this place from that officer at the station. He would barely help me at all!" Sera observed with a slight frown. "Wouldn't even let me so much as take a peek at the case files, even. I was lucky that he was at least willing to let me look at the painting in the first place."

"I've got a copy of them back in our hotel room." Heiji noted, tucking his hands into his pockets. "Yer free ta look at it later if ya want. Judgin' from yer motorcycle out there, we're stayin' at the same place."

"Don't mind if I take you up on that offer, then." The grateful smile on her face was genuine- she'd been having some trouble opening doors when it came to this case. Given the fact that so much of it had been so deeply covered up to begin with, it really didn't surprise her any- but that didn't make it any less frustrating. She couldn't help but wonder how this guy had managed to get what she had wanted so easily, though, but if he was willing to share, then she wasn't exactly about to interrogate him.

"But I've got to say, this is one awfully creepy lookin' place." Turning his attention towards the dining room, which was fully visible from where they stood in the front hallway, one of Heiji's eyebrows shot right up. It really did look as if it had been left exactly the way it had been in the past, judging from the crime scene photos that he had looked through. The only thing missing was, of course, the actual corpse, which had long since been buried. The animal blood that had been left in the cups had long since dried up, only leaving traces of it behind.

Which was probably for the best, all things considered. It might not have been human blood, but it would have probably been more than enough to stir up some unpleasant cravings in him, ones that he would rather not attend to when there was someone else around who called themselves a detective.

He wasn't quite certain what to make of this Sera Masumi just yet- other than the fact that he was pretty sure they weren't telling him everything. But to be fair, he wasn't disclosing his real reason for digging his nose into this case, so it wasn't like he was _particularly_ bothered by his fellow detective's non-disclosure. If anything, they probably had their own reasons.

He didn't get the feeling that they were in any way connected to that guild, at the very least. Still, he kept one eye on them as he carefully began to study the crime scene, looking for any curious details that might have been missed before. The fine layer of dust on everything, he thought, did nothing to combat the creepy feeling of the scene- it was more than enough to make his skin crawl.

In light of the fact that he had dealt with _actual_ monsters in the recent past, Heiji supposed it was a bit funny that something like this would creep him out- but well, it was what it was. Noticing out of the corner of his eye that his fellow high school detective had turned to pay some attention towards Kazuha, he frowned, brows furrowing together as he carefully listened in to what they were saying. That guy had _better_ not be trying to make any moves on her or anything like that!

"Are you a detective yourself, Toyama-san?" Sera found herself asking, looking over towards the girl in question. She couldn't help but notice the glower this action earned her from Heiji, not even needing to be a detective to determine what the two's relationship might be. It almost was enough to make her want to mess with him a little- _almost_ , at least. She didn't want to blow her chance to access the case records by making him angry, which was pretty much the only thing holding said urge back. She got the feeling that this one was definitely the temperamental, hotblooded type.

Which was a bit ironic, given how strangely cold his hands had been. He looked pretty healthy otherwise, so she couldn't help but wonder if he perhaps had some kind of condition.

"Ah no, I'm not." Shaking her head, Kazuha flashed a smile, noticing Heiji's not so subtle glower herself. Heaving a slight sigh, she decided to continue to make pleasant conversation nonetheless- and honestly, and right after he'd promised to be nice! "Heiji is my childhood friend and my boyfriend, so I ended up coming along with him to help him out."

"Help him?" Sera blinked, tilting her head to the side. "Like as an assistant or something?"

"You could say it's something like that." Nodding her head, Kazuha decided that was pretty much the best cover story. She supposed that technically what she did to help Heiji out these days more than qualified her as some kind of assistant- allowing the vampire detective access to crime scenes that nobody would invite him into, searching crime scenes which Heiji couldn't enter himself, and generally covering up for the fact that Heiji wasn't _necessarily_ all that fantastic at concealing the fact that he wasn't human. It was very nearly a full time job.

"But to come all this way from Osaka on your summer vacation to investigate a case like this... that's some boyfriend you've got there." Sera couldn't help but note, casting a glance towards Heiji, who she couldn't help but notice was still glowering at her. With a slight pause, she couldn't help but wondered if she'd been mistaken for a boy again- though for some reason she got the feeling that revealing herself as a girl would be completely irrelevant to this one when it came to reassuring him that she had no interest in his girlfriend. "Does he usually do this sort of thing?"

"Well, this is our first time overseas, at the very least, but Heiji's always runnin' off to solve cases." Kazuha said with a quick grin, shooting a look over towards his way, knowing full well that he could hear them with no problems. Catching that look, Heiji startled somewhat, quickly trying to busy himself with his investigation again. "Whenever he catches the scent of an interesting mystery, he's off to follow it before anyone else knows what's happening."

"In that case, I guess you could say that the two of us are rather similar." Sera observed, folding her arms in front of her chest. "But I suppose the same thing could be said for anyone who calls themselves a detective."

"That's true. Still, he's not quite as bad as Ran-chan's childhood friend, at the very least." Realizing that Sera had no way of knowing who she meant, she gave them a small laugh, quickly deciding to expand on that. "Ah, I have a friend named Mouri Ran whose childhood friend is actually a high school detective as well. He's actually Heiji's rival, in a manner of speaking. If I recall correctly, his name is..."

"Kudo Shinichi."

"Yeah, that's it!" Nodding her head, Kazuha turned to look towards Sera, a slight look of surprise on her face. "Do you know Kudo-san, Sera-san?"

"Wait a second, yer sayin' ya know _Kudo_ , but ya haven't heard of _me_ at least once!?" Heiji couldn't help but blurt out, his glower now more intense than it had been before. Storming back over towards the two, he folded his arms in front of his chest, brows furrowing as he locked eyes with Sera. "What's that about anyways?"

"You heard that?" Sera blinked, more than a little surprised. He'd been on the opposite side of the room, after all, and she hadn't thought that they were speaking all that loudly.

Blanching a little, Heiji felt a bit of his fury slip away from him, a slightly nervous laugh escaping from his lips. That _probably_ wasn't something he should have been able to overhear, wasn't it? Temper aside, it was always somewhat difficult for him to discern things that he should be able to hear and things that he shouldn't. "Y-yeah. I have good ears."

Slightly curious at the way her question took some of the fire out of him, Sera tilted her head slightly, somewhat intrigued by this Hattori Heiji in his own right. "Well, it's true that I haven't heard of you before, Hattori-kun, but if you're interested, I think it would be a good idea for the two of us to work together on this case, seeing as how we're both fellow high school detectives."

Still a little annoyed that they'd heard of his rival before him, Heiji nevertheless flashed Sera a quick grin, giving them a nod of his head. "That sounds fine ta me! I left the usual partner that I bump heads with back in Japan, an' ta be frank, I don't know all that much about this country, so I guess I wouldn't really mind workin' with ya, Sera-han."

"Then, I'm looking forward to it, Hattori-kun." Offering him her hand again, she couldn't help but notice the slight way he paused before he took it again, giving it another shake. This time she let her grip linger a little, glancing down at their joined hands in mild curiosity. "Has anyone ever told you that you've got very cold hands?"

If anything, it reminded her of some of the corpses she had examined in the past. There was something _else_ strangely corpse-like about his hand as well, but she couldn't quite place what that was- well, it was probably nothing important, anyways.

"A-ah, yeah." Quickly slipping his hand from Sera's grip, Heiji gave her something of an awkward smile. "I've got somethin' of a condition, I guess. But it's nothin' ta really worry about, so ya don't need ta concern yerself about it!"

"If you say so." Although she accepted his explanation easily enough, Sera couldn't help but find herself more than a little curious about what this condition might entail. "Did you find anything?"

"No, nothin' new." Shrugging his shoulders, Heiji glanced back towards the crime scene. He'd given it a pretty good rundown, even with half of his attention diverted towards Kazuha. "Well, I didn't really expect ta find anythin' new after all this time. Still, I wanted ta at least see the place with my own eyes."

"Heiji, why don't you bring Sera-san along with you to tomorrow's meeting?" Kazuha spoke up, glancing between the two of them. "If you're going to join heads on this case, you might as well bring them along."

"Meeting?" Sera blinked, turning her full attention back towards the Osakan detective. "With who?"

"Well, ya could say that they're somethin' of a friend of a friend of mine." Heiji said after a moment, scratching is cheek a little. "She's with the FBI."

"Oh?" Arching a brow, a renewed look of interest crossed Sera's face. "The FBI, you say?" As a pleasant smile crossed her face, she quickly concealed her vested interest in the mere mention of the group in question. "In that case, I would be _very_ interested in coming along with you, Hattori-kun."

* * *

Hattori Heiji, Sera concluded, was something of a strange one.

In spite of an otherwise open and honest nature, she could detect the scent of secrets right away. Be it his strange reactions to her questions about his unusually low body temperature or his hearing, or the strange, long case that she had noticed when he'd invited her into his hotel room, there was something that just felt slightly off about her fellow high school detective.

He didn't produce sound when he moved. That in itself was something that Sera found more than a little intriguing. It ran in stark contrast to how otherwise loud he was- she'd quickly assessed him as being the hotblooded, temperamental type, the kind to completely wear his heart on his sleeve. He very much fit the expression 'what you see is what you get', were it not for the fact that there _were_ things he was obviously hiding. It didn't really even take a detective to figure out what his personality was like- that much was obvious just from talking to him for even a few minutes. In that regard, he was an open book.

Which made the fact that he was clearly keeping secrets all the more interesting.

He had a different air to him than most people. She wasn't quite certain how to put it into words- it wasn't that he felt dangerous or anything of the sort, but there was simply something about him that didn't quite _fit_ with anyone else she had met in her life. The noiseless way in which he moved was a fundamental part of it, she suspected, but there was more to it than that.

Regardless of whatever it was he was hiding however, Sera found herself genuinely liking the one who was apparently called the high school detective of the west back home. After she had finished looking over the case records that he had leant her- both the ones that he'd gathered from the local police station, as well as a much larger collection of case files that contained information of all six murders, he'd spent a considerable amount of time grilling her on why she'd heard of his rival, and not himself.

Well, she had her own reasons for being interested in the likes of Kudo Shinichi, but that was her _own_ secret to keep.

Once she actually got him talking about the detective of the east, she quickly discovered that although his temper had flared when he'd realized she had no idea who he was, even though she knew his rival, he actually seemed to care for Shinichi quite a bit, and spoke of him with a great degree of fondness. Were it not for the fact that he had a girlfriend, she'd actually suspect that he might have had a crush on the guy- which might very well still be true, all things said.

There was something in the way he flinched when Sera had innocently inquired if he knew where his rival had gone off to, and in the non-answer that he gave that informed her he already knew full well _where_ he was and what he was doing. This intrigued her too, even if it appeared to have no correlation between whatever secret of his own that he was keeping. At any rate, judging from Kazuha's reaction, whatever he knew about Shinichi wasn't something that was shared between the two of them.

"Oh? Is Hattori-kun not coming to dinner with us?" Sera blinked, pausing to glance back at the Osakan detective, visibly noticing him flinch again at her question. When Kazuha had invited her down to the hotel's restaurant for dinner, she'd naturally assumed that this meant Heiji would be coming with them. He did, after all, still seem somewhat suspicious about her intentions towards Kazuha, even though she'd already informed him that she was, in fact, a girl. As predicated, this seemed to be a completely irrelevant factor to Heiji's worries. Still, Kazuha wasn't quite her type to begin with, so he really didn't have anything to worry about.

Doubtless he was the kind who thought that his girlfriend was so cute, that there was no way that those around him wouldn't be interested in her. Granted, he was also the kind who would never say something like that out loud.

"I've still got some things ta do." Heiji flashed her a quick grin. "I'll grab somethin' ta eat later. Ya don't have ta wait on me though, go ahead an' help yerselves."

"You heard him." Kazuha told her, giving a slight shrug of her shoulders. It was clear as day to Sera that she was helping keep whatever secret that her boyfriend was concealing, but appeared to me somewhat better at him than doing so. "Then, Sera-san and I will head on down and get something to eat. I'll see you in a bit, Heiji."

"Well, if you say so." Sera said, her gaze lingering on Heiji for a moment longer than he appeared to like- before she gave him a smile, turning back towards Kazuha. "In that case, let's enjoy some food, Toyama-san. The restaurant here is actually pretty good, I was surprised!"

"Just Kazuha is fine." Kazuha was quick to assure her, giving her a small smile. Catching the slight glower Heiji sent Sera's way as she turned to close the door to the hotel room, she gave him a slight roll of her eyes, silently telling him to stop being such a big baby. "So have you been doing detective work for very long, Sera-san?"

"Since middle school at the very least, Kazuha-chan." Sera told her, a quick smile on her face as she gave the girl's first name a testing use. "What about Hattori-kun? From the sound of it, the two of you have been together for quite a long time."

"You could say that." Kazuha told her, giving her a small laugh. "We'll, he's always been helping around the neighborhood finding lost pets and stuff ever since he was a kid, but he first really started working to solve real cases when he was in middle school as well. He only gained any real fame after entering high school though. That was when people outside of Osaka started to hear about him."

"Heh." Opening the door to the stairwell and letting Kazuha enter ahead of her, Sera paused, unable to help but notice a slightly unusual looking scar on the nape of her neck. Two round circles, spaced evenly apart- she couldn't help but wonder where she had gotten such an unusual scar. "Have you always helped him as an assistant, then?"

"I only really began to in earnest a few months ago." Kazuha told her frankly, seeing no reason to conceal that much. She got the feeling that Sera had probably picked something up from Heiji, but as long as she wasn't the type to believe in the supernatural, she doubted that she'd be able to draw the conclusion that he was a vampire. Considering that every other high school detective she'd run into didn't believe in the supernatural, she doubted that this one was an exception. "You know, since that's around when we started dating."

"Ah, I see!" Nodding her head, Sera couldn't help but smile at that. "Childhood friends who became lovers, huh? I guess that sort of thing _does_ happen."

"W-well," Feeling her cheeks heat up a little, Kazuha gave her a small nod. "I suppose it does. Do you have anyone you like, Sera-san?"

"Me? No way." Quickly laughing it off, Sera shook her head. "I'm not interested in things like that, at least not for the moment. More importantly, what do you know about this FBI woman we're supposed to be meeting tomorrow?"

"I don't know her myself, really." Kazuha told her, giving a small shrug of her shoulders. "Heiji's at least met her once, but my friend Ran-chan would know her better. I think she used to teach English at her school when she was on vacation back in Japan. Something about letting someone slip away from her...?" Tilting her head to the side, she tried to recall what it was that she had heard from Ran, before shaking her head. "Well, I guess she has something to do with this case. I think Kudo-kun knows her as well, now that I think about it..."

"Oh, Kudo-kun does?" Sera asked, a slight glint of curiosity surfacing in her eyes. "She sounds like an interesting woman, if she's willing to work with a high school student on a case like this."

"I was thinking that myself!" Kazuha agreed. Opening up the door at the bottom of the stairwell, letting Sera through. "Ran-chan seems to really like her, so I can't wait to meet her myself."

"I'm quite interested in meeting her myself." With a smile that didn't betray any of her hidden thoughts, Sera turned back towards Kazuha. "Well then, let's get something to eat, shall we?"

* * *

His own hunger was what pulled him away from the pages of the book he'd been pouring over. Placing a hand on his stomach, Heiji let a slight sigh escape from his lips, setting down his novel. If there was one thing he'd come to learn about his newfound needs, it was that it was better to not ignore them, otherwise he'd suffer the consequences later- dealing with hunger pains as a vampire was not fun.

Well, the more he put off drinking blood anyways, the more he would need in turn- it was much easier to go with his body's flow than resist it. That was he could absolutely be sure that he was taking just as much as he needed, without running the risk of putting anyone's lives at danger from blood loss.

Pausing to spare a glance at the slumbering form of Kazuha, he carefully reached over, pulling a stray bit of hair from out of her mouth, where it had found it's way towards. She turned a bit towards him in her sleep, but didn't otherwise stir. Planting a light kiss on her forehead, he carefully changed into his street clothes once again, and silently made his way out of the hotel room.

If there was one part of being a vampire that Heiji still actively _hated_ , it was definitely this- this need for human blood, this craving for it that was something he couldn't deny, not if he wanted to remain in control of his senses. It wasn't like his thirst for human blood turned him into some kind of uncontrollable monster or anything- he'd dealt with his fair share of bloodied corpses at crime scenes even after becoming a vampire with no ill effect. Granted, if he denied it for long enough, he didn't doubt that he would become increasingly more desperate to get it, but he never intended to allow something like that to happen.

The last thing he wanted to do was create anymore victims like himself, he thought, one hand straying back up towards his neck. There were no scars left from where he had been attacked, having long since healed since becoming a vampire, but sometimes he could still feel the echoes of them, as raw as they had been on the day he had been basically murdered.

Well, being an undead bloodsucker was still better than being dead, he thought to himself, and it simply wasn't in his nature to be overly pessimistic about any situation he found himself in. As he made his way out into the night, he carefully took stock of his surroundings. He didn't know anything about this town, so he would have to be extra careful not to be caught. There was only so far his brainwashing ability could take him, especially since he could only use it on one person at a time.

Pausing in his tracks to cast a glance back towards the hotel, he pinpointed the window of the room in which he knew Sera was staying in. It, like the others, was darkened, the female detective probably fast asleep. He got the distinct feeling that he was going to have to be extremely careful with her around- the last thing he wanted was for her to get any weird ideas about him, or discover _what_ exactly he was. She'd already picked up on the fact that he was a bit strange, of that he had very little doubt.

Maybe he should consider not shaking people's hands anymore. _Especially_ ones who had cause to deal with corpses.

Well, he doubted it would matter for very long. Although he'd agreed to work with her, he didn't know how long she planned on sticking around. After wrapping things up here, he and Kazuha were supposed to head down to the scene of the latest murder, halfway across the country, to look into things there. With any luck, they might be around when the inevitable painting showed up.

That said, he didn't get the feeling that Sera's interest in this case was merely a passing one. Hopefully once they were deep into investigating it, any questions about his own oddities might completely fall to the wayside.

She was keeping secrets too, he thought- though he doubted that they were quite in the same league as that of his own. She seemed rather interested in Kudo- and he hadn't missed the way that she had seemed to grow twice as interested when he'd mentioned the FBI. There was something there, he thought- but as long as she wasn't going to press him about his own secrets, he wouldn't press her for hers. It was fair trade-off, he thought.

Picking up the sound of a promising heartbeat, Heiji's gaze automatically flickered in that direction. Well, thoughts about his fellow high school detective could wait- he needed to get himself a something to eat. And it sounded as if he'd found someone who was just right that for that.


	3. The Woman from the Bureau

AN: And here's chapter three, hot of the presses! With this chapter we get introduced to all four main canon players in this fic, so to speak, although other characters will appear later on (mostly by phone). A somewhat unusual combination of characters, all told!

Thanks for reading, please leave a review!

* * *

 **Bloodsport**

 **Chapter Three**

 **The Woman from the Bureau**

* * *

"It's been quite some time since we saw each other last, hasn't it, Hattori-kun?"

Always one to stand out in a crowd, it hadn't been difficult to find Heiji at the coffee shop that she had selected as their meeting place. She couldn't help but note that his party appeared one larger than promised- quickly glancing over towards the extra member with a slight frown. Although certainly she'd never met the person tagging alongside Heiji and who she assumed was his girlfriend, Kazuha, who she knew from photographs shown to her by Ran, there was nevertheless something distinctly familiar about them that she just couldn't place.

There was something in the way that they looked at Jodie as well, an expression that told her there was something more hidden behind those eyes.

There too, was something that seemed to have changed in regards to the one known as the high school detective of the west, although Jodie couldn't quite put her finger on it. There was a scar over his right eye that seemed to resemble a long healed burn, and she couldn't wonder where he'd picked it up from- it certainly hadn't been there when she'd seen him last.

But whatever the case, now was hardly the time to dwell on such things. If they had come here alongside the famed high school detective of the west, then in all likelihood, they were probably somehow related to the case. Granted, she had been more than a little surprised when Conan had called her out of the blue only a few scant days ago to ask her if she knew anything about a certain high profile serial murder case from her home country, but given all the help that the young boy had provided the FBI, she was more than happy to answer. All the more so when she found out that he was worried about his good friend, who was heading to America to work on that very same case.

Conan hadn't _quite_ given her the reason why Hattori Heiji was straying so far away from his home territory, but she could only assume that there was a good reason for it. And as fate would have it, Jodie herself had in fact, briefly worked on the case in question before being transferred to the investigation pertaining to the Organization.

It would have been even better if Shuichi were still here, she thought to herself, a slightly somber expression creeping it's way on to her face. He knew more about the case than she did- although like her, he had been pulled away from it to work on the much larger investigation of the Organization.

It was a baffling case, to say the very least, so to be honest, Jodie was almost grateful that a fresh set of eyes was willing to look into it. Although she had only really seen Heiji at work up close once before, she had only heard good things about him, and it was clear that he was a young man with a promising future ahead of him. And any friend of Cool Kid was clearly good news.

It hadn't been that difficult to convince her boss to allow her to return home for a few days in relation to the matter. In fact, he'd been more than happy to oblige, perhaps thinking that she might want to distance herself somewhat from Japan, knowing how close she had been to the likes of Akai Shuichi. Perhaps focusing on a different case for a short period of time would allow her to clear her mind and come to terms with her feelings, bringing her a newfound focus when she returned to Japan, and returned to the matter of the Organization.

"Yeah." Flashing her a wide grin, Heiji took a seat at the table across from her, Kazuha taking the chair to his right. "Not since that one case at yer apartment complex. Ah, this is Toyama Kazuha, by the way."

"I've heard about you from Ran-chan, Jodie-sensei." Kazuha spoke up, offering the woman her hand, which Jodie took, giving it a firm shake. "She seems to be quite fond of you. Although..." Trailing off a little, a slight frown tugging at her lips. "I suppose it's not really _sensei_ anymore, is it?"

"Sensei is fine, Toyama-san." Jodie told her with a slight smile. It was a bit strange to still be speaking Japanese in her home country, but out of the three of them, she was only certain that Heiji was fluent in her mother tongue. Best to stick with what they know. "And who is this young..." Jodie paused, trailing off slightly herself as she realized that in all honesty, she didn't actually know what gender the third teenager was, much to her great embarrassment.

"Sera Masumi." Sera introduced herself, giving the woman a quick grin, offering her a hand to shake as well. "In case you were wondering, I'm a girl."

"A-ah, I see." Nodding her head, Jodie quickly took the girl's hand, shaking it, still slightly flustered at her mistake in spite of the easy way that the girl had played it off. The name still rung no bells within her- perhaps the girl simply resembled someone that she had met in the past. "It's nice to meet you as well, although I don't remember hearing anything about you from Conan-kun."

"Conan-kun?" Sera blinked, tilting her head slightly. She was certain that the one who would have contacted this woman would have been Kudo Shinichi, judging from the way Heiji described his relationship with him- but who was this Conan person? "I actually just met Hattori-kun here myself. I'm actually looking into this case myself as well, and ran into him while doing just that. He kindly invited me along to meet with you today."

"Ya don't mind, do ya?" Heiji asked. "The more the merrier, right?"

"It's true that with this case, we could use all the help we could get." Jodie confessed after a moment. So this girl was probably something of a high school detective herself she took it, if she was investigating such a case on her own. It caught Jodie's interest- frankly, she hadn't even been aware of such things as high school detectives until after she moved to Japan in pursuit of the Organization, but there were apparently more of them than she ever could have thought. "I welcome you, Sera-san."

"It's a pleasure to work with you, Jodie- _sensei_." Sera told her- and for a brief moment, Jodie picked up on that strange vibe from her again, one that informed her that the girl almost seemed to be silently assessing her. For what reasons, she did not know. "It's quite the terrible case, so I'm sure the FBI wants to catch the culprit behind it as quickly as possible, especially after the murders have begun again after so long."

"Yes." Nodding her head, Jodie glanced between Sera and Heiji, a serious expression crossing her face. "We'd hoped that the fourth murder would be the end of it, but it seems as if we were too naive."

"Can ya think of any reason as ta why they suddenly stopped in the first place?" Heiji asked. That had been something that had caught his interest right away.

"It may very well be that they were arrested on unrelated charges." Jodie observed. "It's not the first time such a thing has happened, after all. There's also the possibility that there were circumstances within their own lives that prevented them from continuing with the murders. It's highly likely that it's the same culprit, judging by the analysis done on the paintings- the chance of it being a copycat is rather low."

"That painting _was_ quite impressive." Sera mused. "Although creepy."

"So you've seen it?" Jodie blinked, before nodding her head. "Yes, I must agree with you. I haven't been able to see the fifth one in person myself yet, but judging from the photographs alone, even someone who isn't familiar with art such as myself can tell that the technique and the level of skill between the first four paintings and the fifth paintings are a match. It's not impossible that someone would be able to mimic the style of the paintings, but matching the exact level of skill behind them is considerably harder to do. All the more so since information about the paintings was never released to the public in the first place."

"When did ya start gettin' involved with this case, Jodie-han?" Heiji asked, briefly changing the topic.

"Around the time the third painting showed up." Jodie recalled, a slight frown on her face. "I was pulled away from the case maybe a year after the fourth painting showed up."

To investigate that Organization, Heiji knew, but didn't say out loud. He was never sure how much Kudo had told the FBI in regards to how much the Osakan detective knew about _them_ , so it was better to not actively bring it up. _Especially_ not with Kazuha and Sera around.

"I see." Heiji said, folding his arms in front of his chest, leaning back. "If it's a case that's even managed ta puzzle the FBI fer so long, it sounds pretty complicated. Did ya ever draw up a list of suspects in the first place?"

"Once." Jodie said. "After the first murder, before anyone thought it would become a serial murder case, the local police came up with a list of suspects they thought would have had motives to kill Marie Grady. However, when a second corpse showed up, that list of suspects pretty much became null and void. It's probably listed in the case records you already have, Hattori-kun."

"So it was." Inclining his head, he quickly recalled the contents of that list. "All of 'em had alibis for the second murder. Hard ta kill someone when yer in a completely different state."

"That's correct." Jodie nodded her head. "After the second body showed up, that's when the case was passed on to the FBI. It was pretty clear then that this wasn't going to end."

"Isn't there anyone else involved in the case we can talk to?" Sera piped up, a slight glint in her eyes. "Perhaps someone who was involved with it from the start?"

"Unfortunately, no." Jodie said, shaking her head. The only one she knew who had been involved with it from the start- or at least from the second murder, when it had caught the FBI'S interest- was Shu, and it had been a case that had eluded even him. Blinking a little, she put a hand to her chin, her brows furrowing in thought. As much as the solution to the case had eluded him at the time, there _was_ a time when he thought he had come close to the truth. "Actually, there _was_ another suspect that came to light after the third painting showed up."

"There was?" Heiji blinked. There had been nothing about that in the case records. "Who?"

"It doesn't really matter that much anymore." Jodie said, giving him something of a solemn smile. "They had their innocence proven by ending up being the fourth victim, after all."

"The Last Dance of the Devil, huh?" Sera asked, leaning her chin against her hand. She'd been able to see a photograph of the painting, though none of the crime scene. The devil woman clad in a long red dress, tied up with strings in a dancing position, lips painted bright red with what she wasn't entirely unconvinced was meant to be blood, as smaller devils frolicked and danced around her. "That was the title of the fourth painting, wasn't it?"

"That's correct." Jodie said, nodding her head. "The victim's name was Amelia Hayden. She was a thirty-six year old painter living in Virginia with her only daughter. Her painting style was somewhat similar to the one the murderer used, though they depicted wildly different subjects, which is how she wound up on the suspect list to begin with. Given the condition in which her body was found, suicide would have been impossible, and when the fourth painting arrived, it cemented her innocence."

Granted, it looked like there was still something on Shu's mind back then, but he'd been transferred to the Black Organization shortly after that, so he never got to look into the matter any further. It was impossible to ask him about it now.

"But why the paintings in the first place?" Kazuha spoke up, a frown crossing her face.

"It's hard to say." Jodie confessed, giving her a small smile. "The paintings are probably the entire reason behind the killings in the first place, but what prompted them to start killing people for them, and why they depict the subject matter that they do are mysteries. Just arranging the scene in which the corpse is to be found must take a considerable amount of time, so there has to be some kind of motive behind it. As for what it is, I honestly can't say. We'd considered the chance that someone might be paying for such paintings, but we found no evidence to support such a theory."

"I don't understand why someone would want ta own a paintin' like that in the first place." Heiji noted, arching an brow. "Well, people are weird though."

"At any rate, I've made arrangements with my coworkers for you to start helping with the case, Hattori-kun. I put in a good word for you." Jodie told him with a slight smile. "Of course, I'll be here to help as well. I was told to take a short break from my current investigation by my boss."

"Current investigation?" Sera piped up.

"I'm afraid I can't really talk about it." Jodie told her, giving her a rather tight smile. "It's confidential."

"And I would never dream of prying." Something in the light tone of her voice made it sound like she had every intent of doing so. "I was only just curious. What about me though, Jodie-san? I'm certain I'll be of use to this investigation as well, if you let me help."

There was a slight pause, as Jodie considered the offer, before giving her a quick nod. "I think I can arrange that. Sera Masumi, you said your name was? I'll contact my superior officers and see to it that you're given a certain level of clearance on this case, alongside Hattori-kun and Toyama-san here."

"Ah, I'm not a detective." Kazuha said quickly, shaking her head, not wanting to give the woman the wrong idea. "I'm just here because I'm worried about this idiot."

"No, I _insist_. As long as you've got clearance, it also means we know to protect you as well." Jodie said, a stern look on her face. There almost seemed to be something that she wanted to say, and as she glanced between the three teenagers at the table, she heaved a slight sigh. It was better to tell them this to keep it from them- if anything, it might even lead to a key to unlocking this case, if she didn't miss her guess. "Actually, this is a fact that hasn't been made readily available yet, as we've just learned of it ourselves, but..."

"When we were looking into affairs surrounding the sixth victim, Camilla Carey, we eventually discovered that she was actually a freelance investigative reporter. She would investigate big stories, and then sell her findings to the most relevant newspaper underneath an alias." Jodie explained. It was because the alias was constantly changing that they hadn't been able to make the connection right away. "It seemed that the murderer erased most of her research on the subject, but we were able to uncover enough evidence to lead us to believe that she might have very well been chasing this subject herself."

"And ended up becomin' a victim." Heiji said, eyes narrowing as his gaze briefly flickered over towards Kazuha. "So yer worried about us, in other words."

"Yes." Jodie said after a moment, slowly nodding her head. "Normally I would recommend that someone not directly involved in investigating the case should go back home, but..."

"I'm not leavin' Heiji alone after hearin' somethin' like that!" Kazuha protested. Well, granted, she doubted that the murderer would be able to capture him in the _first_ place, but there might be trouble caused by even so much as an attempt. Besides, after that incident had taken place not even a month earlier, she was still worried about Heiji's well being. Mitsuta had given him a clean bill of health after being exposed to that flower, but she had also noted that he should still be cautious, because it wasn't entirely impossible that there might be a possibility of a relapse.

The flower had caused a huge, fundamental shift in him, and there was no telling if there might still be lingering effects, even as the antidote she had contacted had allowed him to return to his senses. Considering the fact that the vampire who had arranged for him to be exposed to it's scent in the first place had wanted to use it to trigger him to likely kill or severally injure Ran in the first place, it was frankly a miracle that everyone had come out of that situation unscathed.

If something like a relapse happened, Kazuha wanted to be there herself to put a stop to it. Clenching her fists underneath the table, her mind's eye flashing back to that terrifying day at the Mouri Detective Agency, as she watched Heiji briefly become something he wasn't- a monster, a real monster- there was no way she could allow something like that to happen again, not when he was far out of her reach and there was nothing that she could do about it.

Well, granted, she wasn't even certain _what_ she could do about it even if she _was_ around, but being there was better than nothing.

Sensing what she was thinking, Heiji rubbed the back of his head, before flashing Jodie a wide grin. "Don't worry about it, Jodie-han. Kazuha's pretty tough after all. She's aikido champion, after all."

"Heh, is that so?" Sera asked, perking up at the mention of the martial art. "I study Jeet Kune Do myself. My brother's the one who taught me, at first."

"And Heiji's a right demon when it comes ta kendo." Kazuha noted, flashing a slight smile over towards him. Well, he was _also_ an immortal vampire, but it was better not to mention something like that. "We can all protect ourselves if need be, Jodie-sensei. Ya don't have to worry about our safety."

"Very well." Jodie said, nodding her head. "Still, I do want to impress upon you three that this is a dangerous case. If you ever feel like at any point you're in danger, nobody would blame you for backing out and leaving. You're all still high school students after all, and it's best not to forget that sort of thing."

"Geez, ya sound like my mom." Heiji grumbled. "But it's alright, Jodie-han. I don't think any of us are the type ta just back out of somethin' that we've already started on anyways."

"No, I suppose you aren't." Jodie said, giving them a small smile, nodding her head. "Very well then. Just promise me that you'll pay attention to your surroundings, and I'll get to making arrangements to get the four of us down to Georgia shortly. With any luck, we might be around when the sixth painting shows up."

* * *

As it turned out, Jodie wasn't going to be spending the night there, but had already made arrangements to fly out ahead of them, to prepare everything for their arrival. After they'd wrapped everything up that afternoon, they had spent a little longer chatting about the subject with Sera, before they had gone their separate ways. Their own flight arrangements had been made, and Kazuha had carefully set her alarm clock to make sure that they could get to the airport in time.

"What do ya think of Sera-san, Heiji?" Kazuha asked, fiddling with her cellphone a little, wondering if it was worth the cost of the long distance call to call Ran. What time was it back in Japan anyways? She'd called her own mother and Heiji's mother not long after they'd arrived here, of course, to let them know that they had made it safely.

"What do I think?" Heiji blinked, leaning back in his chair a little. "I don't really know quite what ta think just yet. I guess that she seems interestin', but it feels like there's somethin' she's not tellin' us."

"To be fair, the same could be said of us." Kazuha noted, setting her cellphone aside. "Isn't that right, mister vampire detective?"

"Ya've got a point there." Heiji said, flashing her a wide grin. To those who didn't know him well, the sharpened canines that he bore whenever he smiled didn't draw too much attention to themselves, but to Kazuha, they were an unmistakable hint to his true nature. They were also, incidentally, pretty cute, but that was something she would keep sealed away in her own private thoughts.

"I think you should be a bit more careful around her though, Heiji." Kazuha said after a moment. "Sera-san's nice, but she seems pretty perceptive, and she's definitely curious about you. You really need to be less careless with your secret. I'll always have your back, but it would be better if you were a little more mindful of certain things. It would be terrible if someone were to find out about it when we're this far from Osaka."

"Ya've got a point there too." Heiji admitted, scratching his cheek, giving her a small laugh. "Well, she doesn't seem the type ta believe in vampires anyways."

Getting to his feet, Heiji quickly closed the distance between them, taking a seat next to her on her bed, pulling her a bit close to him. Grinning down at her, he listened to the steady beat of her heart echo in his ears, a sound that had become oddly comforting to him lately. "It'll be fine, Kazuha. I think ya worry a little too much."

"I think ya worry a little too _little_." Kazuha pointed out, her brows raising even as she leaned her head against his shoulder, enjoying the closeness. She'd long since ceased to mind his lack of a heartbeat, and the coldness of his touch. Actually, during the heat of summer, the latter was downright pleasant- it was like having her own personal walking cooler. "She was full of questions about ya during dinner last night, ya know. Wanted ta know where that scar over yer eye came from."

Kazuha had only told her that he'd gotten it while on a case- _not_ that he'd gotten it from being burned by holy water. "Anyways, I don't think she'd try an' stake ya, but ya can never be too careful."

"Yer still worried about what Mitsuta-han, said, aren't ya?" Heiji asked, glancing down at her. It was subtle, but she could feel the way that his grip on her waist tightened, ever so slightly. He was obviously more worried about the possibility of a relapse than he wanted to let on.

He hadn't even _mentioned_ it to anyone outside of her, she knew. Not even his parents. Not even that Kudo guy. _Definitely_ not to Conan or Ran.

It was a matter that had been discussed between the three of them after the vampire that turned to Heiji had been captured and sealed away, but before they had returned to Osaka. Heiji had wanted to go to Mitsuta's clinic alone, it seemed, but Kazuha wouldn't allow it, and had followed him all the way there.

Sometimes she wondered if he would have told her about it if she hadn't been there.

"Of course I am." Kazuha said, placing her hand over his, closing her eyes. "Who wouldn't be?"

"It'll be fine, Kazuha. I won't let somethin' like that happen." Heiji reassured her. "I'm Hattori Heiji, after all. I wouldn't lose ta somethin' like that. Not fer a second time, at least." He noted, a slight frown forming on his lips. The first time had been bad enough, much as he didn't remember much about it. Snippets of the time when he had very decidedly not been himself had eventually surfaced as time passed, and frankly, he was amazed that anyone who knew him could stand to see him in that state. They brought to mind memories of his brief (and admittedly, terrifying) encounter with the feral vampire- except in this case, the animalistic, hissing monster had been _him_.

"Ya'd better." Kazuha said, opening her eyes to give him a sharp glance. "My charm can only go so far ta protect ya against that sort of stuff."

There was still a burn mark on his chest in the shape of her charm from that time. Normally, it didn't have any effect on him at all- rather, in the past, it had actually protected him, keeping him safe from a vampire hunter. Ever since she'd learned about that, she'd been rather adamant that he not go anywhere without it, even more so than she usually was. But on that day, that had changed, and the charm that had once been meant to protect him seemed to change direction- acting in an attempt to protect others _from_ him.

By the time he'd returned to his senses, it had returned to it's normal duty of protecting him. Although, in a sense, she supposed that protecting others was a form of protecting him in the end- Heiji would have never forgiven himself if he'd hurt anyone, even if he wasn't in control of himself at the time, even if everyone else forgive him.

That was the kind of person he was, after all. She wouldn't have fallen in love with him were he any different.

"I promise." Heiji reassured her, casting another wide grin down at her, pulling her just a little bit closer. "When have I _ever_ broken a promise?"

"Ya realize that's _not_ a very reassuring thing ta say given yer track record, Heiji." Kazuha pointed out, casting a skeptical look up towards him. "You break a lot of promises."

"...yeah, ya've got a point there." Heiji admitted after a moment, giving her a sheepish laugh. "But I mean this one, alright?"

"Alright, Heiji." Closing her eyes again and letting out a long breath, Kazuha carefully wrapped her own arm around him. "I'm holding ya to it."

* * *

"Hattori-kun are you alright!?"

"Nope. Yep. M'fine." Placing a hand on his face, ignoring how contradictory his answer was, Heiji was just grateful that nobody had actually _seen_ him collide with what would have been an invisible, nonexistent barrier to everyone else- everyone else save but him. As much as he thought he'd gotten used to this vampire business, there were plenty of times when he forgot that when it came to a residence, if he wasn't _personally_ invited inside, then he couldn't enter.

Even if the actual owner of the home had been dead for quite some time. As long as there were other humans inside, or the house remained owned by _someone_ , he couldn't enter it. Recalling that Jodie had said nothing that could be interpreted as an invitation inside, Heiji grumbled to himself, wondering why of all the vampire legends, _that one_ had to be true.

Wait, scratch that earlier thought, he thought to himself, hearing Kazuha let out a small snort. Kazuha had definitely seen him slam headfirst into the invisible barrier. Groaning a little as he pulled himself to his feet, he shout Kazuha something of a dirty look, one that she gave him a slightly sheepish, though not apologetic, smile back to. That was probably going right on to her growing list of 'embarrassing situations in which she'd found Hattori Heiji and would never allow him to live down'.

He was pretty damn certain that list had _tripled_ in size after becoming a vampire. It wasn't _his_ fault that not everything came with an instruction manual.

"Did you trip or something?" Sera blinked, momentarily befuddled as to what had just happened. He had been right behind her, so she hadn't been able to see him fall over, just hear the impact that he made when he'd hit the ground.

"Yeah, somethin' like that. Just lost my step fer a second. No big deal." Heiji told her, flashing her a quick grin. Thankfully, she seemed to buy it- it was the more probably explanation after all. Nobody's first thought would be the fact that the house had literally rejected him when he'd tried to cross it's threshold, spitting him out.

"Well, come on, Heiji." Kazuha said as she took a step inside, offering her his hand. "Let's go inside."

"Y-yeah." Slowly nodding his head and taking her hand, Heiji felt the invisible barrier drop as he was invited inside, passing through the threshold without any issues this time. That was more embarrassing than he wanted to admit, he thought to himself, a slight red tint to his cheeks even as Sera cast him something of an odd look.

Currently, they had arrived at the home of the sixth victim, Camilla Carey. They had already checked over the scene where her body had been found, although there wasn't much left to look at. Both bodies, human and horse, had long since been taken away, and nature itself had played a role in erasing anything that might have still been left behind. They'd spoken to the person who found the body, a young man who used the field as a shortcut to get to work.

Now it was time look through the victim's house for themselves. It was still sealed off by the police, since the matter was unresolved, but they'd been able to get access to it by way of Jodie's FBI connections. Although they'd already gone over the place very thoroughly, it was worth looking through again- it wasn't impossible that they still might turn something up.

"I'm amazed they even managed to find anything in here in the first place." Kazuha observed, glancing around the house. "This place is a total mess."

"Apparently it was that way when they started the investigation." Jodie told her, glancing back at Kazuha. "According to her friends, the victim was a naturally messy person. It certainly didn't make searching this place easy, I'm sure."

"Do you think the culprit looked through their house as well? You said they'd erased the data, after all." Sera asked, peeking into a desk drawer, pawing lightly through it. They'd all put on a pair of gloves to keep from getting their fingerprints on anything.

"We can't say for certain." Jodie said, shaking her head. "We asked some of her close friends to take a look at the house, but they said they didn't think it was any messier than usual, or that anything was out of place. There's no sign of forced entry either. The fact that all of her papers relating to the case are missing hints to that, but it's also just as possible that they tricked her into bringing them with her, and stole them then."

"Given that ya were able ta find a trace of her research into the case, I guess they either didn't look through the place at all, an' she left somethin' behind, or they just didn't look through this place close enough. Where was it found, by the way?" Heiji asked, feeling that would be the most likely place to start.

"In the victim's scrapbook. Well, it's already secured at FBI headquarters, so I'm afraid that I can't show it to you at the moment, Hattori-kun." Jodie was quick to apologize. "She kept a scrapbook of everything that concerned cases she had investigated in the past, and collected them all in a scrapbook. We found it in a lock box underneath her bed, hidden behind a false panel. Her mother mentioned it's existence to us, and we began looking for it afterwards."

"Her mother?" Sera asked.

"Yes. It seems like she always kept it hidden and only told her mother about it just in case something ever happened to her." Jodie explained. "Apparently the idea was that whoever found it would be able to determine what she was investigating at the time from whatever was the last entry in the scrapbook, and follow the trail from there. Sadly, the only thing in the scrapbook itself were articles already published in the newspaper, so there wasn't any new information."

"If she was murdered, then it's possible that she'd learned something our murderer didn't want her to know." Sera noted, her brows furrowing together in thought. "The question is _how_ the murderer got to her in the first place. When did she go missing?"

"A week before her body was found." Jodie replied, a grim expression crossing her face. "According to the autopsy, she had already been dead for a day when her body was first discovered, so there's at least five days unaccounted for between when she went missing and when she turned up dead. However, _also_ judging from the autopsy, they believe that her head was severed very slowly, so that accounts for _some_ of the missing time."

"So they either lured her into a trap, or saw a chance ta kidnap her." Heiji noted, casting his eyes around the room. His vision was sharper than a normal human's now, and it was something that had come in handy more than once during investigations in the past. "Either way, it's clear that they wanted her out of the way. It's kinda hard ta believe that someone paranoid enough ta hide a scrapbook like that wouldn't hide some kinda backup of their research away."

"Yes, that's the investigators thought as well." Jodie said, nodding her head. "They've been pouring over this house trying to find any trace of something like that, but beyond the scrapbook, we've turned up nothing yet. She's either hidden it very well, or the backup has been destroyed."

"In that case, there's not much we can do but split up and search the house again." Sera said, a quick grin on her face. "I'll take the first floor with Jodie-san here. Hattori-kun, why don't you and Kazuha-chan take the second floor?"

Blinking, Heiji couldn't help but feel as if Sera had some kind of ulterior motive for wanting to stay with the FBI investigator- but she had a point, it would be easier if they did split up. "Yeah, we'll do that. Kazuha?"

"I heard." Kazuha said, already heading towards the steps. "Get a move on yerself, Heiji."

Flashing her a quick grin, Heiji quickly hurried behind her, casting one last curious look towards Sera, before he darted up the stairs after Kazuha. Well, it wasn't like he wouldn't be able to hear everything that was going on downstairs anyways. "Then, let's start with the bedroom first, Kazuha."

In the end, it was the sound that gave it away, Heiji thought. He'd been searching the closest when he'd noticed that there was something decidedly off in the way his footsteps sounded that drew his attention down towards the floor. Frowning a little, he carefully glanced at the dresser that had been placed inside of the closet, pulling out the bottom drawer all the way out- something which earned him a slight noise of protest from Kazuha, as she watched him basically destroy furniture.

Placing the drawer inside, he glanced into the darkened area that it exposed, shoving his hand inside. Wrapping on the floor, he frowned, before he pulled his hand out, wrapping on the floor behind him. There was no mistake, the sound was definitely off.

There was something there.

Deciding that the easiest thing to do was to just pick up the rest of the dresser and move it to the side, Heiji effortlessly transported the dresser from the closet to right behind him. The noise of it hitting the floor seemed to draw attention from downstairs, but Heiji was too focused for the moment to really care. Carefully tapping his knuckles against the floor again, he nodded to himself, confirming that there was in fact, something off there.

But was there a hidden switch or something, or a false panel? Feeling around for one, he didn't glance up as Sera and Jodie alike hurried up into the bedroom, casting a curious look over the proceedings. Seeming to catch his drift, however, Sera quickly squeezed herself in behind the relocated dresser and knelt down beside him, carefully searching for some way to access whatever was hidden there.

When she felt a part of the floor give way under her hand, Sera couldn't help but give something of a triumphant grin, quickly pushing it down further. With a firm click, hidden gears began to move, causing a panel hidden within the closet's floor to open up, exposing a hidden compartment.

"So there was something still hidden in this house. Nice job, Hattori-kun!" Sera beamed.

"No, no, it was nothin'." Heiji said, flashing her a quick grin. Inside of the hidden compartment was a locked box, which he carefully removed, placing it on top of the dresser behind him, pushing it towards Jodie. The American woman took it, carefully studying, assessing the lock, wondering if this was something that she could jimmy open herself, before concluding that she could.

"Give me just a second." Jodie noted. "Toyama-san, do you have any hair pins?"

"I do." Nodding her head, Kazuha pulled one out, handing it over towards Jodie. Carefully setting to work, Jodie quickly opened the lock, the box opening up with a firm click. Locked inside of it were several small notebooks, each with a label pasted on the front of it. And right at the top of the pile was a notebook labeled 'The Mythological Painting Murder Series'.

"That sounds like our case, doesn't it?" Sera asked, squeezing herself past the dresser again to get a better look at it. Being able to read the contents just fine from where he was, Heiji remained there. Granted, fluent as he was in it, reading English upside-down was still a bit of a challenge, but it was nothing that he couldn't handle. "She really looked into things thoroughly."

"So it would seem." Jodie said, paging carefully through the notebook, taking the time to carefully scan each page before moving on. So far, no new information had presented itself- although some of it was information not yet known to the public. That, at the very least, had told her that Camilla Carey had been digging deep before her untimely death, and that held within it the hint of a promise.

It was a list of names that made Jodie cease to turn the pages. Two of them she recognized- Amelia Hayden and daughter, Caroline. The others she didn't- but all of them were listed as disciples of the deceased Amelia.

She hadn't even _known_ the woman had painting students in the first place. Nobody they had spoken with had mentioned such a thing, only that she had tried and failed to teach her daughter then seventeen year old daughter Caroline to paint- her bother was quite gifted, but her daughter had no talent, it seemed. She'd seen her work of herself, and she frankly had to agree.

"If she had students, couldn't she have taught them to mimic her style?" Sera pointed out.

"That's certainly true." Jodie slowly nodded her head. "But we didn't hear _anything_ about her having students in the first place, much less four of them, and we certainly asked. Only that she had tried and failed to teach her daughter to paint."

"Is there anythin' more?" Heiji asked.

"No, it doesn't seem like it." Jodie said, flipping through the rest of the notebook, and finding nothing. "Whatever the case, at the very least this could be a start. It would appear that it might be a good idea to question Caroline Hayden all over again as well." Shutting the notebook, she placed it back into the box, carefully taking the whole thing in her hands. "At any rate, we should take this with us and begin looking into these names as soon as possible. It's possible that this information alone might have been what Camilla was killed for."

"Yeah, I agree." Nodding his head, Heiji carefully slipped out from behind the dresser. The group carefully made their way downstairs and out of the house, Jodie pausing to lock the door behind them. As they headed towards her rental car, for a moment, Heiji found himself freezing in his tracks, a strange chill to the air that made even his lifeless body shiver.

There was a strangely foreboding feeling that crept up the back of his neck, causing his hair to stand on end. A quick glance at the other three informed him that they hadn't seemed to notice anything themselves, but he knew he wasn't mistaken.

Someone was watching them, from somewhere. Turning sharply on his heel, pinpointing the location of the gaze, Heiji's eyes narrowed. There was something to those eyes that spoke of more than just curiosity- there was malice in that gaze. And in spite of the fact that his vision put that of any human's to shame, he still couldn't see anyone that was watching them.

And then, just as soon as the feeling had come, it vanished, the air once again warming up around him.

"Heiji, is somethin' wrong?" Kazuha called out, taking notice of the way he'd gone slightly pale.

"Ah, no." Blinking, Heiji turned around, flashing a quick grin. "It's nothin'."

No, it wasn't nothing- it just wasn't something he felt he could bring up around Sera or Jodie. Someone- or _something_ had been watching them, he was certain of them. But who? From where? And _how_?

He already got a feeling that he knew _why_.


	4. The Devil's Long Since Been in Georgia

AN: Sorry for the wait, here's chapter four! Things start heating up more than a little with this chapter, so I hope that everyone enjoys it! Thanks for reading, and please leave a review if you could be so kind!

* * *

 **Bloodsport**

 **Chapter Four**

 **The Devil's Long Since Been Down in Georgia**

* * *

When Jodie returned to the temporary headquarters that the FBI had set up with the notebook and it's list of names in hand, one of them had rung alarm bells almost as soon as it had been put into the system.

Elizabeth Parker, age thirty-three, who had been murdered over three years ago. Her killer was never found, and the case had gone unsolved since then. While at first they'd suspected that perhaps it might have been the same killer, a quick check of the investigation that the local police had done proved that this didn't seem to be the case- she had been found lying in her living room, with rope marks around her neck, but no elaborate setup had been created, and no painting had ever been sent into the police.

Still, it was a bit much for a coincidence.

"That _would_ explain why hers was the only name circled. See if anyone recently asked for any records surrounding her murder." Jodie said, glancing down at the notebook in her hands. The other three names that she didn't know didn't raise any flags in the system- not even minor arrests or traffic violations turned up in response to them, so they would have to use more conventional methods of tracking the three remaining people down. Caroline Hayden, of course, she knew, and they were currently looking into locating her current whereabouts.

Madeline Craven, Andrew Faulkner, and Peter Clay- those three names were the ones that remained on the list.

As Jodie had predicted, there had been a request for the records surrounding Elizabeth Parker's murder, one that had been made rather recently- by none other than Camilla Carey, the woman whose notebook that they now held. She had showed up in the small Louisiana town where Elizabeth's body had been found in person, and had spent a considerable amount of time going over the case records at police headquarters there.

If she'd discovered anything from looking at them, she hadn't written anything down, Jodie thought, paging through the small notebook. After the list of names, the rest of the pages were completely blank- they'd even tested for invisible inks and things akin to that, and had found no traces of any hidden words.

Still, her instincts told her that it was this information that had eventually lead to the victim being killed- and she got a feeling that the two high school detectives by her side shared this same impression. Glancing over at them, she couldn't help but notice that Heiji seemed vaguely fidgety- he'd been acting like that ever since they left the home of Camilla Carey, as if there was something that was bothering him. As much as he had reassured them it was nothing, she couldn't help but think it was in fact, something.

An impression which his girlfriend seemed to share, Jodie thought, sparing a glance in the direction of the ponytailed girl, watching as she cast a worried look towards Heiji out of the corner of her eye. She was able to pinpoint the exact moment when Kazuha decided to just ask Heiji about it plainly, and watched as she took the Osakan detective by his arm, leading him out of the room with a quick apology to everyone else.

Turning away from them as the door closed behind them, she glanced at her colleagues- not missing the studious way that Sera had been watching them all from the very beginning. It felt as if both high school detectives were hiding secrets from her- secrets, she suspected, that were of two very different natures, yet no less dangerous for them. She doubted that they had any relation to the case at hand, however.

"At any rate, let's include the murder of Elizabeth Parker in our overall investigation. Request the full records surrounding her murder from the local police." As Jodie issued the command, she watched as her coworkers quickly set to work. "And you, over there." She said, pointing towards one of the men. "I don't think these kids have had anything to eat since their plane landed, so see about bringing us some food while we wait. Not much can be done on an empty stomach, after all."

* * *

"What's bothering ya so much, Heiji?"

Once she was certain that they were out of earshot of any prying ears, Kazuha finally broke the question she had been dying to ask ever since they'd gotten back into Jodie's rental car. Something had obviously been eating at Heiji ever since then, and she knew enough about him to know that it was something he wanted to talk with her about, but couldn't in front of the others. Which, in her opinion, could only mean one thing- there was something _more_ to this case, something that the vampire detective couldn't easily tell the two humans that he had been working with.

"I'm not sure if it's anythin' serious, yet, but..." Giving Kazuha a slight frown, casting a glance back in the direction of the stairwell. She'd pulled him into the empty stairwell in order to speak frankly with him, and after pausing to give things a quick listen, he determined that nobody was around. "When we were comin' out of that house, I could have _sworn_ that I felt that someone was watchin' us."

Kazuha's expression turning more serious at his words, she dropped her voice all the more. "Did ya see who it was, Heiji?"

"No, that's just the thing." Heiji told her, shaking his head. "I was able ta more or less pinpoint _where_ the feelin' was comin' from, but I didn't see anythin' or anyone that could have been watchin' us. But I know what I felt, Kazuha, even if none of ya noticed. _Someone_ definitely had their eyes on us."

"That's creepy." Her face paling slightly at his words, Kazuha swallowed. She trusted Heiji's instincts on this- if he thought someone had been watching them at the time, he was most likely right. "But why? An' how, if ya couldn't even see them, Heiji? I thought that vampire hunter woman told ya that a monster wasn't involved in this case."

"There's stuff other than monsters out there, Kazuha." Heiji said, scratching the back of his head. He'd been so quick on that assumption that he hadn't asked Karen for any clarification, which he was starting to regret. "I don't know what it could be, but I get a feelin' that there's somethin' more ta this case, an' that somethin' may mean it's either a real good thing I'm here, or a _real bad thing_. Frankly, I don't know just yet."

"Should we tell Jodie-sensei and the others?" Kazuha asked, though she had a feeling what the answer already was.

"No, not yet." Shaking his head, Heiji cast a glance back towards the way they had come. "Just the feelin' of someone watchin' us isn't enough ta go on, an' if there really _is_ somethin' _more_ to this case, I'd rather _not_ get a bunch of... well, _humans_ involved." He inwardly cringed a little at how easy it had become to distance himself from humans- considering he'd still been one just a few months ago, it was more than a little strange. "If it starts ta look like it might be somethin' dangerous though, I'll bring up what I can."

"Whatever the case Kazuha, be on your guard."

"I got it, Heiji." Giving him a quick nod, Kazuha took his hand, looking him sharply in the eyes. "That goes fer you too, ya know. Just because yer immortal doesn't mean yer invulnerable. I'd _rather_ not see ya lose another arm again, and that'd be really hard to explain to everyone else."

"I'll try ta keep both my arms this time, I promise." Heiji was quick to reassure her, managing to flash her a quick grin. "Wasn't very fun the first time around, I've got no plans to go in for round two of that any time soon."

"Good." Kazuha told him, before reaching out and giving his hands a quick squeeze. "Now let's go back before they think we're up ta anythin', Heiji. Ya might not be able ta talk to them about these sorts of issues, but ya know you've always got me to lean on, right?"

"I know." Heiji told her, his grin growing. "Yer the best a guy could ask fer, Kazuha."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, idiot." Kazuha said lightly, taking his hand and leading him out of the stairwell, heading back towards where the others were. Frankly, she'd felt a little out of place in the room, the rapid fire English that was being spoken around her going right over her head. It wasn't that she couldn't speak it in a pinch- it was just that her skills with English weren't nearly as good as Heiji's.

Perhaps she should consider studying it a little bit more when she returned home. Who knew where the future might take them.

"Oh, you're back." Sera glanced up as they reentered the room, before motioning towards a table with a nod of her head. "Jodie-san had someone bring up some food, in case the two of you are hungry. I was just going to have a bite to eat myself."

"Now that ya mention it, I was getting a little hungry. I haven't had anything to eat since we left the airport the morning." Kazuha said with a slight frown, placing a hand over her stomach. "Thank you, Jodie-sensei."

"No, it's no problem." Jodie told her with a slight smile. "Help yourself. There's nothing that can be done on an empty stomach, after all. Sorry it's just stuff from a fast food place, though."

"No, it's alright." Kazuha said, shaking her head, her stomach rumbling as she caught the wafting scent of french fries- before she paused, glancing over towards Heiji, silently communicating with him that he should _try_ eating something, even just for show. "Well, then, we'll help ourselves!"

Plucking out a burger and a carton of fries for herself, she quickly passed another carton of fries towards Heiji, which he took with no small amount of apprehension. She was well aware that normal food was tasteless and unappetizing to him now- and what's more, that he couldn't even properly digest it, but if he didn't eat anything at all, people would start to think that something was strange. And she knew that he knew that much himself, watching as he glowered down at the fries for a moment longer, before forcing himself to take a bite.

"Is something wrong with your food, Hattori-kun?" Sera asked, peering across the table at him as she all but made her own burger disappear in the blink of an eye. "I've always thought the fries from this place are pretty good."

"They're just a little salty." Heiji told her, giving the female detective a small grin, forcing himself to eat a little bit more. He took one of the drinks more gratefully, downing the soda without any issues. It wasn't that the liquid would do anything for him- there was nothing that would sate his needs other than human blood- but it wouldn't hurt him either, and it managed to more or less bite back any hunger pains that he might have.

He was getting a little bit hungry himself now- last night's bite to eat was starting to wear off, he thought. Well, now that they were in a bigger city, at the very least finding food would be easier, he thought to himself, inwardly grimacing at the thought. He wondered if drinking blood would have sat easier with him if he wasn't also a detective- and decided that it probably would.

Maybe he'd done something terrible in a past life, that justified his current state of existence in this life. If that was the case, then he'd gladly go back in time and kick his own past life's ass for daring to cause him so much trouble.

"Really?" Sera asked with a frown, considering one of her own fries. They seemed fine to her. Come to think of it, this was actually the first time she'd seen him eating anything- he hadn't joined them for dinner on the second night at the hotel either, and he hadn't been around for breakfast either of the mornings that they had been there either. It was only ever just Kazuha. That was a bit odd. "Well, suit yourself, I suppose."

"I will." Heiji noted, briefly arching a brow, before setting aside the carton of fries, having only nibbled on a few. He'd more or less reached his limit. "Excuse me fer a second." Exchanging a brief glance with Kazuha, he quickly left the room.

"Your boyfriend's kind of strange." Sera observed, watching as Heiji excused himself, her slight frown having not left her features. "Has he always been this way?"

"He might not look like it, but Heiji's actually got a sensitive stomach." Kazuha told her, schooling her expression into one of neutrality. It was a lie that she had concocted with Heiji's mother and it seemed to work well enough. "Well, I agree that he _is_ a bit strange. But it's not a bad kind of strange, is it?"

"I suppose not." Sera said lightly, shaking her head, letting out a small laugh. "I'm a bit jealous, actually. When I was a kid, I only had my two older brothers to play with. I didn't get to play all that much with other kids my age, sadly. Well, that _was_ what would make the occasions on which I did stand out all the more though."

"Did you travel a lot or something?" Kazuha asked, tilting her head slightly. "But havin' two older brothers sounds a bit fun. Heiji an' I are both only children, although I guess we spent so much time growin' up that we were somethin' like each other's sibling as well, too. Although now that we're dating, I guess that sounds a bit weird." She admitted after a moment.

"I doesn't sound that weird." Sera said, shaking her head. "But you're right. Both of my brothers were pretty cool in their own right, but it was my oldest brother who was the coolest. He taught me all sorts of things."

"Ah, is he the one that taught you... Jeet Kune Do, ya said it was?" Kazuha asked.

"That's right." Flashing her a quick smile, Sera nodded her head- before glancing up, taking notice that Heiji had returned, pulling out the chair next to Kazuha again and taking a seat next to her. "Oh, welcome back, Hattori-kun."

"Ya alright, Heiji?" Kazuha asked, sparing a glance over towards him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Giving Kazuha a quick grin, Heiji nodded his head, before glancing back behind him, carefully listening to the many bustling conversations that were going on in the office. There were so many of them that they tangled together when he wasn't concentrating, coming out as nothing more than noise. That sort of thing had been one of the things that had given him so much troubled when he first began adjusting to his new senses, but he'd more or less gotten the hang of it by now. Thankfully, he'd begun to learn to drown such things out on his own- and had furthermore learned to untangle the threads of mixed conversation, should he focus enough.

So when he heard one of the FBI agents comment that one of the names on the list- Madeline Craven, lived in this very city, it quickly caught his attention. Rising to his feet, he made his way back over towards Jodie, tucking his hands into his pockets, flashing her a wide grin.

"Did somethin' come up?"

"Oh, Hattori-kun." Blinking a little, covering the way she had been startled by his sudden appearance rather well, Jodie gave him a quick smile. "Apparently out of the names on the list, one of them lives in this very city. We were just making arrangements to go visit her. Of course, you and the others are welcome to come as well."

"Ya wanna come, Kazuha?" Glancing back at the girl, he watched as she gave the notion a consider, before she nodded her head, wiping her mouth with a napkin and rising to her feet. She had no interest in letting Heiji out of her sight if she could help it, especially not after what he had just told her earlier. "Yeah, I guess we're comin'. Probably don't even need ta ask Sera-han."

"I'm coming of course." Sera said simply, getting to her own feet, a hint of a smile gracing her face at the smell of a lead. She had began looking into this case in hopes of catching a shadow of her brother- but she couldn't deny that she was very much interested in the case itself now. After all, there was no detective in their right mind that _wouldn't_ be intrigued by a twelve year old unsolved serial murder case.

* * *

Madeline Craven, as it turned out, was a very nervous woman.

Although she had been more than happy to speak with them on the surface, she didn't seem to want to let them inside of her home, choosing to hover right in front of the door instead. For a moment, Heiji wondered if maybe she could sense something from him- before her overall nervous demeanor won out, and he realized that whatever her reasons were, it involved _all_ of them. When she'd learned that Jodie was with the FBI, and that two of the three teenagers that she had with her were detectives, she'd swallowed for a moment, before casting them a nervous, yet still somehow polite, smile.

When they asked about her old painting master, she'd once again done very much the same. With a slight hint of hesitation in her voice, she finally resolved herself to speaking up.

"She _wasn't_ my painting master, actually." Madeline told them, vivid anxiety working it's way into her otherwise placid smile. "And I'm afraid I didn't know that Elizabeth had been killed. The four of us haven't spoken to each other much over the course of the past eight years. We all went our separate ways after Amelia..." There was a hint of hesitation in her voice again, her tongue working in her mouth as her gaze darted away from them. "...after Amelia was killed like that."

"If she wasn't teaching you painting, then what _was_ she teaching you?" Sera was the one who spoke up, a glittering hint of curiosity in her eyes. There was definitely something that this woman was keeping from them- it was written all over her face. "Whatever it was, someone thought it was important."

"Important to _what_ , exactly?" Madeline asked after a moment, avoiding the question. "I will admit that I knew her, and that I knew Elizabeth, but I don't understand why such a thing would bring the FBI and two young detectives to my doorstep. Their murders weren't connected, were they?"

"We're not certain yet." Jodie admitted, shaking her head. For now, it would be best if they worked to calm down the woman's nerves and get her to open up to them. When she'd asked her if she knew that one of her old friends, Elizabeth Parker, had been murdered, there had been a hint of something that had flashed through her eyes- enough for Jodie to deduce that she _already_ knew this fact, and for whatever reason, was playing dumb. "We're reinvestigating the murder of your teacher."

"What an odd group to do it." Madeline half mumbled underneath her breath, her gaze lingering on Heiji for a moment longer than he was comfortable with. He didn't feel anything strange about this woman, so she was probably human, but... "Amelia was teaching the four of us art history, not painting in and of itself. She never took on any painting pupils, aside from her daughter. Besides, I'm a sculptor myself to begin with, not a painter."

"Are ya sure that's _all_ that it was?" Heiji asked, locking eyes with the woman. She seemed to flinch a little at his gaze, but she managed to hold it, nervous though she was. "Why didn't any of ya come forward after she was killed, though?"

"Because it was _scary_." Madeline said after a moment, her gaze finally flickering away from his. She wrung her hands as she spoke, and judging from the way she was working her mouth, he could guess that she was carefully choosing her words. "I can't speak for the others, but _I_ was scared. I didn't want to get involved, and it's not like I knew anything that could help the police anyways. List or no list, I've got nothing to do with her murder, nor Elizabeth's, so I don't know what it is that you three want from me in the first place."

"We're currently just trying to cover all of our bases." Jodie told her, a slight smile crossing her features. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a photo of the sixth victim. "Have you spoken with this woman recently? Her name is Camilla Carey."

Taking a brief look at the photograph, Madeline shook her head. "No, I don't know her. I'm afraid I really can't help you." There was a moment of hesitation then, as if she was considering something. "But if you want someone who might have more information than me, about Amelia at least, I can at the very least give you her daughter's phone number."

"I thought you said none of you kept in contact with each other?" Sera couldn't help but note, quirking a brow.

"I said the four of us students didn't." Madeline noted, briefly sparing her a glance. "But I've kept in contact with her daughter all this time. I mean, she was only seventeen when her mother was killed, I was worried about her."

"What happened ta her after that?" Heiji asked, watching carefully as the woman pulled out a pad of paper and began writing down a number. She seemed to briefly glance over her shoulder as she did so, causing him to narrow his eyes- was there someone else in there with her? He couldn't pick up on any signs of anyone else though.

"She went to live with her father." Madeline told him, ripping off the piece of paper and handing it over towards Jodie. "Her parents divorced not that long after she was born, and her mother got custody rights. Right now she's living in Washington DC, working as a manager of a small bookstore."

"Losing her mother like that must have been a big shock to her." Jodie observed, scanning the phone number before tucking it away. She was unable to help but note that Caroline's current residence was located in the same place where the fifth murder had taken place, and wondered if it was a coincidence- or something more. At the time she hadn't been on the list of suspects, considering she was still a teenager, and one who seemed bereft without her mother.

"It was. I don't think anyone would expect someone that they knew, much less their own mother, to go that way." Madeline said, a slight frown crossing her features, as if there was almost something more that she wanted to say- but quickly decided against it. "Well, if that's all, I really must get back to my work. I've got a commission deadline coming up after all."

"I've got just one more question fer ya- why were ya learnin' art history from her in the first place?" Heiji asked, tilting his head slightly. He didn't buy that story one bit- there had to be something else that she was learning from the woman, he just didn't know _what_ \- or why it would be something that she would need to hide.

"Because she used to be a professor who taught it, before she retired to become a painter." Madeline noted. "She was offering some courses to make some extra money, because her business wasn't going that well. I thought it would be interesting at the time, since my college didn't offer such a course. That's all."

With that, Madeline retreated back into her apartment, and Heiji could hear the firm sound of the door being locked behind her- not once, but three times from the sound of it, something which caused his eyes briefly to narrow. It wasn't as if her apartment was even in a bad part of town- a triple lock on the door seemed a _tad_ excessive. Was she just paranoid, or was there a reason for it?

Either way, something was fishy here.

* * *

"Ugh, why does the sun hafta be so bright?" Grumbling to himself more than a little, Heiji took a great amount of relief in retreating underneath the shade of the nearest tree- it was lucky that there were so _many_ of them in this city, he thought to himself. Once in the shade, he could slowly feel the irritation that the sun cast over his skin begin to dampen somewhat, returning back to manageable levels. Just in time too, it had been starting to get to him more than a little. Slinking down until he sat in the shade, Heiji closed his eyes for a moment, briefly resting his head against the trunk of the tree.

At least he wasn't completely allergic to the sun. It'd be awfully hard to explain to people why he'd suddenly become nocturnal. Briefly, he couldn't help but wonder how Mitsuta's husband had dealt with that.

"Hattori-kun, are you alright?" Jodie's worried voice snapped him back to attention, his eyes snapping open. "You look a bit unwell."

"Ah, it's fine, it's fine." Heiji was quick to reassure the woman, flashing her a wide grin. "I actually have a real mild sun allergy, that's all. I just needed a quick break."

It wasn't a lie, after all, and the woman didn't know him well enough to think of it as anything strange- though she did nevertheless give his explanation a mild blink. Thank goodness the one time they'd met each other before, it had been underneath the cover of darkness.

"You should have mentioned something like that a little sooner. I would have called for a car." Jodie noted, a slight frown on her features- but it was one of concern for someone younger than her, and not of suspicion. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Just give me a little bit ta recover my energy." Heiji told her, keeping up his grin. 'Let me have a quick sip of your blood, that'll perk me right up', after all, was hardly the acceptable answer. It was _probably_ best if he didn't let someone involved with the FBI know that he was a vampire, much less that vampires were _real_. "It's really not a big deal. I've learned ta live with it after awhile."

Well, that was also true. While it was true that the bright sun seemed to bother him all the more now that it was summer, he imagined that perhaps it was simply a seasonal thing. Once fall and winter came, the irritation would die down a little bit. It really wasn't usually all that bad, either, he was quite frankly, lucky in that regard, not any worse than a mild prickling sensation, that danced across any bare parts of his skin.

"If you insist, I won't press you on the matter." Jodie said after a moment. "Would a bottle of water help? There's a vending machine just across the street."

"Oh, thanks!" With a quick nod of his head, Heiji glanced over in said direction. That actually _would_ help, now that he thought about it. Apparently even vampires could get dehydrated- who knew? "That would help a lot, Jodie-han."

"Then, I'll go get some." Quickly excusing herself, Heiji watched her as she carefully made her way across the street. After leaving Madeline's place, they had decided that they could cover more ground if they split up- and although Heiji had wanted to naturally go with Kazuha, Sera had spoken up with a bright smile on her face, claiming that she'd like to spend more time with the girl, and suggested that he go with Jodie.

He'd protested, of course- but eventually gave in. Even Kazuha had reassured him that everything would be alright- even though she'd protested it too at first. After sensing that it might make them a bit suspicious if she was too insistent about it, she eventually relented. The two of them had stayed behind to watch Madeline's apartment complex- judging from how nervous she had been, it appeared that he wasn't alone in thinking that she was keeping something from them. It was worth keeping an eye on the place to see if she might make an unusual movements.

Come to think of it, this was the longest he'd spent with people who didn't know anything about his secret lately. Ever since he'd become a vampire, it almost felt as if his social circle was starting to decrease. Being around people who didn't know had begun to make him wary, and it wasn't a feeling that he liked. The _last_ thing he wanted was to turn into some kind of suspicious hermit once everyone he knew had passed on. Right now with the case at hand to focus on, it hadn't been bothering him as much, but Kazuha had a point- he _did_ have to be a bit careful.

It had only been a few months since he'd stopped being human, so why was it so difficult for him to pass as one now, anyways? Maybe Kudo was right- maybe he really _was_ the worst liar that he had ever known. It wasn't as if he could help it- ever since he was a kid, his parents had tried to instill a deep sense of honesty in him- how were they supposed to know it would backfire on them like this?

Well, whatever. He'd managed to keep Kudo's secret for quite some time now, so he imagined he could keep his own if he really tried. Besides, he was pretty sure that _vampires_ were an even more absurd concept to most than shrinking humans.

He'd actually offered to look into any ways he could turn his friend back to normal via the new channels that had opened up to him, but he'd been turned down. Well, if that little scientist girl couldn't figure out a way to cure them, then he got the feeling that Kudo would take him back up on that offer, and he'd made it clear that it was always going to be out there for him if he needed it.

Abandoning friends in need was _not_ what Hattori Heiji did, after all.

"Here you are, Hattori-kun." Holding the water bottle in front of his face, Jodie watched as he took it from her, the tips of his fingers briefly brushing against her own as he did so. A slight shiver ran down her spine at his touch- in spite of the summer heat, his fingers were ice cold. It hadn't been the first time she'd noticed this, and it was more than a little worrying to her- had he been this cold before?

"Thanks a bunch, Jodie-han." Flashing her another quick grin, he quickly uncapped the bottle, taking a long drink of the cold water. It did help him feel a little better, even though it wasn't quite what he needed. "Sorry fer holdin' ya up like this. I know we've got plenty left ta do."

"It's fine." Jodie told him, taking a drink from her own water bottle- the sun was getting to her in it's own way. She'd almost forgotten how humid it could get down south during the summer. "Don't worry about. But I'm surprised. You must be really close to Conan-kun for him to call me like this."

"Ya could say that." Heiji told her, twisting the cap back onto the bottle. "But importantly, is that daughter really comin' down here?"

"She said that she would." Jodie said simply. "Although she also appeared to be quite surprised when she got my call. I do remember meeting her briefly when I was still working on the case myself, but it's been eight years since then. Still, she seemed willing to come down and talk with us if we thought it would help. We've already sent someone out to wait for her at the airport."

"There's somethin' fishy about this case." Heiji muttered, half to himself, narrowing his eyes underneath the brim of his cap. "I mean, the whole thing's weird, but..."

"No, I can understand what you mean." Jodie said simply. "From the beginning, the whole case has been rather strange. There's just far too little clues, for one thing. Given how elaborate those set-ups can get, one would think the culprit would have ended up leaving a trace somewhere, but that's never been the case, even now."

"An' why did they stop fer eight years?" Heiji mused. "Hey, was that lady's paintin' style _really_ that close to the culprit's?"

"From what I could see, quite." Reaching into her pocket, Jodie pulled out her cellphone, fiddling with it for a few moments. "This are some of her works, for example. Of course, the subject matter's different, but..."

"Yer right." With a slight frown, Heiji shifted through the online gallery that Jodie had brought up- one that he couldn't help but notice appeared to be managed by none other than the victim's daughter. In memory, the page read. "They really are alike. Well, as far as I can tell anyways. Art's never really been my thing. Are we really sure her daughter can't paint?"

"If that were the case, she'd have to have _at the very least_ killed her own mother. There was no way that setup was a suicide." Jodie told him, shaking her head. "And she would have only been thirteen years old when the murders began. It's extremely unlikely."

"That's true." Passing the phone back to Jodie, Heiji was willing to admit that much. Well, then again, if this case really _did_ involve things that weren't normal, then it wasn't impossible that such a thing could be true. There was definitely a hidden side to this case, of that he had very little doubt now. The next chance that he got, he was definitely going to give his father a call and ask him to try and get some more information out of Karen- there must have been something that woman still knew.

Getting to his feet, Heiji brushed the dirt off the back of his pants, readying himself to head out into the bright sun once again. They couldn't just keep lingering around her forever, after all. While they talked, it was possible that the murderer was putting the finishing touches on their next grand painting as they spoke- and dwelling on their next victim.

* * *

"Do you really think she's hiding somethin'?" Kazuha asked, keeping her voice to a low whisper. The two of them had found a safe place to watch the apartment complex from- a small cafe located across the street. From their position underneath an umbrella, it would be impossible for Madeline to make them out clearly from her window.

The waiter, incidentally, also seemed to think that they were on a date, from what little she could gather. It was probably for the best that she didn't mention something like that to Heiji. She didn't want to give him any reasons to try and pick a fight with Sera.

"There's no mistake about it." Sera said, her gaze fixed on the window of the woman's room. She'd left the blinds wide open, so that they could see straight into her room. "It was written all over her face, practically. She was definitely lying about not knowing about Elizabeth Parker's murder, and I'm pretty sure she was lying about art history classes. There's _something_ about this that stinks."

"Do ya think that maybe she really did teach them painting, an' that one of her students really is the murderer?" Kazuha asked, carefully blowing on her tea. She hadn't meant to order it hot, but speaking English wasn't something she was all that great out- she was just content that she hadn't ended up with something strange.

"It's possible. It's possible that Elizabeth Parker and Amelia Hayden were killed because they discovered this fact." Sera mused. "And it's possible that Madeline might know about whoever it is, but she's been keeping her silence this whole time."

"Then, could she be in danger?" Kazuha asked, a hint of worry crossing her face.

"That's part of the reason why we're watching over her place. If Camilla Carey really was killed for this information, then it's not impossible that the culprit might turn their attention towards the names on the list." Sera told her, her gaze flickering towards her. "I'm not about to let someone die on my watch as long as there's anything I can do about it, so don't worry about it, Kazuha-chan."

"I wonder why they would only turn Carey-han and Hayden-han into paintings though." Kazuha mused, a slight frown on her features. "If the same culprit really did kill Parker-han, why not her too? An' why restart the murders after so long?"

"That _is_ the question, isn't it?" Sera noted, briefly glancing over in her direction. "There's something about that that doesn't quite add up, but I don't think it's wrong to say her murder and the serial killings are somehow related. Maybe there was some reason the culprit wanted to wait until now to restart the murders? Or maybe Elizabeth's murder was unplanned, so they left it as it was."

Turning her full attention back towards the woman's window, where she could just vaguely make out the woman in question, busying herself with some kind of sculpture, Sera's brows knitted together. There was something odd about this whole case, really.

Just like there was something odd about Heiji.

"Are you worried about him?" Sera asked, not turning her eyes away from the window. "Your boyfriend, that is."

"Of course. Heiji's got a bad habit of runnin' into trouble without thinkin' things through first. He's always been that way." Kazuha told her, taking a sip of her tea.

"Is that how he got the burn scar?" Sera asked, pausing to frown a little as she tilted her head. "Actually, hold that thought." Rising to her feet, she narrowed her eyes- from what she could see from Madeline's window, something odd was going on. Just as she did so, the window all but seemed to fly open, as if thrown open by some unknown force. "Oi, wait a second!"

The next thing anyone knew, Madeline's body impacted with the ground, her head splitting open on the sidewalk. Sera didn't miss a second in making away across the street, artfully dodging cars as she did so, hurrying over towards her side and barking at those who were starting to cluster around her to move aside, to not touch her.

By the time she made it over there, it was already too late. Death had been instant.

And if she didn't know any better, it was almost as if she had been _pushed_ out of the window. It was just- there had been no one there.


	5. Invisible Forces

AN: Chapter five is here! I don't really have all that much to say about this chapter, but it's here! Anyways, as always, thank you for reading! It would be great if you could take some time to leave a review at the end!

Until next time!

* * *

 **Bloodsport**

 **Chapter Five**

 **Invisible Forces**

* * *

If it weren't for the tremendous amount of complications involved with overseas travel when you were someone who didn't actually exist, he would have gone with Heiji himself.

After a fashion, his friend had let him in on what the case he'd been asked to solve was all about, sharing with the him the case notes that his father had gathered for him. He wasn't _quite_ certain what he had been expecting when solving a twelve year old case was the condition that the vampire hunter, Okubo Karen, had placed on contacting someone to forge a special sword for Heiji, but the case had turned out to be far more complicated than he could have imagined. It had caught his interest right away that the FBI had been involved in the investigation- of course they had, there was no way that they wouldn't be involved in a serial murder case of this scale, especially not when it crossed state lines.

Since Conan couldn't go with Heiji himself, he'd do the next best thing to try and ensure his friend didn't get in over his head in some distant land, in a place where he couldn't reach. He'd asked Jodie for help. To his surprise and relief, she had more than readily agreed to do so- he felt a pang of guilt knowing that no small part of the reason why was likely the chance to distance herself a little from the case that she was working on at the time- to distance herself from the loss of a coworker that she probably felt more than just admiration for.

He couldn't exactly tell her that Akai Shuichi was still alive, after all.

Speaking of walking dead men, though in the far more _literal_ sense, Heiji hadn't even bothered to call him even once since he'd gotten to America. It had been nearly three days now since his plane would have landed, and he hadn't heard so much of a _word_ from him. Granted, that was _exactly_ like him, but Kazuha was with him, so surely she would remind him to call his family and friends at some point. Sure, overseas phone calls weren't that easy to make, or that cheap, but didn't that guy know he was worried about him?

He did find some small amount of irony in worrying so much about someone who was _already_ technically dead- but though Heiji no longer had a pulse, and no longer drew breath, he was still very much alive. A walking, talking, moving corpse- sometimes it _still_ gave Conan a headache, even when he didn't factor in all of the _other_ absurdities that surrounded Heiji these days. Drinking blood was the least of it really, though it was the thing that bothered him the most. Since becoming a vampire, Heiji had displayed no shortage of rather inhuman abilities around him, and he sort of wished he would _knock it off_.

Ones that Ai was still pestering him about, incidentally, in no small part to Heiji's own slipup. Perhaps it was for the best that Heiji was out of the country right now, otherwise he got the feeling Ai would take the next train out to Osaka herself to start to run some tests on him, wanting to get to the bottom of just how Heiji had so effortlessly managed to walk on walls.

Well, vampire or no vampire, Conan knew full well that Heiji had a tendency to get in over his head sometimes- something which even death hadn't cured. One would think near immortality would ease his worries, but if anything, it only managed to _increase_ them.

He could only pray that Heiji wouldn't do something stupid, or something reckless, or some combination of both when he was too far away for him to reach. And for goodness sake, would it _kill him_ to give him a call already? At this rate, he'd just have to do it _himself_.

Well, at the very least, the case didn't seem to involve any supernatural elements- at least, that was what Heiji had said before he'd left. He'd been running into cases like that almost nonstop since becoming a vampire, and while Conan supposed that came with the territory, it certainly bothered him. Because he liked investigating things with Heiji, really, he did- he would just prefer that they _didn't_ involve things that he had spent all of his life denying the existence of, only to have them turn out to be real this time.

Just knowing that _vampires_ were real was enough. His best friend and rival having been turned into one with zero hope for a cure? That was something that was very quickly shaping up to be a huge headache in his otherwise _already_ complicated life- especially since he couldn't help but be worried about Heiji's ability to keep his _own_ secret.

Hopefully, nothing would go wrong. In the meantime, there were still things Conan could do even on the distant shores of Japan. Namely, taking the time to ask Subaru if he knew anything about the case.

* * *

By the time Heiji and Jodie had returned the scene, Sera had already broken down the door to Madeline's apartment. She hadn't even spent a minute getting into it, dashing up the stairs as quick as she could, but once she finally kicked the door down, the apartment was completely empty. And that, she knew, was wrong- even though she hadn't _seen_ anyone with her own two eyes, what she had witnessed was the scene of someone being pushed out the window- not someone accidentally falling out of it, nor taking their own life by jumping out of one.

And yet, there had been nobody there. It was possible she had just missed them- but exactly how fast would they have had to move in order for that to happen? Not mention the fact that she had to break into the room in the first place- all three locks had firmly been in place, it had been a challenge to bust the door down by herself, really.

A locked room murder, with no possible culprit in sight. As a detective, she couldn't help but be very intrigued- if not also more than a little frustrated. And even as she chafed over the fact that something like this had managed to happen under her watch, she couldn't deny that this turn of events very much roused her interest. This case was getting more and more interesting by the second. And make no mistake- Madeline Craven's death was clearly related to the case that they were investigating. There was no way it _wasn't_.

Pulling on the gloves that she had the foresight to bring with her, Sera quickly made her way towards the window, carefully glancing outside of it. Below her, she could see Kazuha warding off bystanders, keeping them away from the corpse. She'd asked her to call Jodie and inform her of the situation. Someone had already called the police on her instructions, and if they got here before Jodie did, there was no doubt they'd toss Sera out of the investigation. Which of course, was something that she didn't want, so she had to make good use of the time she had in the off chance that happened.

The door might have been locked, but it appeared that the windows had been unlocked. They weren't broken, only cracked, having been pushed open by the force of Madeline's body. Somehow she doubted that she'd find any prints on either the window frame or the lock that didn't belong to the victim herself. Sticking her head out of it again and glancing upwards, she narrowed her eyes, quickly tossing out the chance that someone might have entered or exited the room from the window. Not only were there three floors above her room, but it was also on a busy street- if someone had tried to do something like that, _somebody_ would have noticed.

Judging from the way that the victim had been acting, it was possible that she already had someone in her room at the time, but... Sera's eyes narrowed as she turned back towards the room, quickly starting to examine any possible hiding places, on the off chance that they were still hiding in the room. Maybe they didn't expect anyone to arrive so quickly, but it didn't appear that this was the case either.

Unless, of course, the culprit was invisible. She let out a faint snort at the thought, quickly shooting it down. She didn't think her hunch was wrong- that Madeline had been pushed somehow, but there was no way that could be possible. Someone who could turn invisible could commit the perfect crime, after all.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess yer the one who broke down the door." Heiji's voice caught her attention, the low whistle that he let out more than anything- and she couldn't help but notice that he was lingering outside of the door, making a show of examining where the hinges had torn right off. "Kazuha called me in a frenzy, an' told me you were already up here when we got here. The hell happened? I thought ya said you were gonna watch her?"

"I was." Sera said, glancing back towards him, noticing a slight twitch out of the corner of his eye, almost as if he seemed to be waiting for something. "That's why I noticed that it looked like she had been _pushed_ out of the window in the first place. It was sudden enough that I wasn't able to stop it, unfortunately."

"Pushed?" Heiji asked, blinking a little, before his eyes narrowed. "Then, it's a locked room murder?"

"Probably. I didn't see the culprit myself though..." Sera trailed off a little, half not wanting to admit that much, but knowing that it needed to be said. Strangely, she got the feeling that Heiji would accept her words without so much as blinking an eye. "Rather, it looked like there was no one in the room but the victim. She had her curtains open so I could see straight into the room, and she really _was_ the only one in here. But judging from what I saw, I don't think this was a mere accident, or even a suicide."

Sure enough, there was a flash of something in Heiji's eyes at her words. "Are ya sure?"

"It only took me barely a minute to get up to her apartment and to break down the door. And yes, I'm sure." Sera noted- then paused, casting him something of an odd look. "Are you actually going to _come in_ at any point, Hattori-kun? Or do you just like lingering outside of doors?"

"Yes." Heiji said bluntly, casting a half glower towards Sera. He gave the entrance a testing nudge, and internally grumbled a little, realizing that Sera's words had in fact, _not_ counted as an invitation. If he'd known this was going to happen, he would have dragged Kazuha up here with him. "Anyways, Jodie-han's down with the body. When the police arrive, she'll see ta it that we _stay_ involved with this case."

"There's no way it's _not_ related to the case. The timing's too perfect." Sera noted, though she didn't break her gaze from Heiji. Seriously, what was he even doing, just lingering by the door? She had confidence that she could examine the scene of the crime quite well herself, but she wouldn't exactly mind an extra pair of helping hands. "What are you waiting for anyways, an invitation?"

There was a long moment of pause, before Heiji heaved a long sigh, folding his arms in front of him. Was she doing this on purpose? " _Yes_."

"Well, get in here then." Sera said simply, shrugging her shoulders, the strange look in her eyes not fading. Rather than not wanting to come inside the room, it almost felt as if Heiji _couldn't_ come inside- which made very little sense to her, since the door was wide open. And barely hanging off it's hinges, perhaps she'd used a little too much force when she was breaking it down. She sure hoped the building owner had some kind of insurance to cover the cost of a replacement door.

" _Finally_." Mumbling the words underneath his breath, Heiji all but rolled his eyes, finally able to enter the room himself, the invisible barrier that kept him out falling away. "Ya find anythin' yet? I doubt our culprit's still hidin' around here."

Rather, he knew that they weren't. Sera's heartbeat was the only one that he could pick up in the room, so unless the culprit was undead like he was, there really was no one else here. Given what she'd said, and the conviction in her eyes when she declared that she was certain the woman had been pushed out of her window, it would appear that his intuition that there was _something_ supernatural involved in this case was right on the mark.

"No, not yet. The two of you got here pretty fast, actually." Sera remarked, peering out the window once more, catching sight of Jodie carefully studying the body.

"We ran into a convenient taxi." Heiji said simply, giving her a shrug of his shoulders. He probably would have been able to make it here even faster by himself, but running around on the rooftops of a city he barely knew, in broad daylight was probably not the best of ideas. He didn't want to draw that kind of suspicion to himself. "Did ya really not see anythin' though?"

"I didn't." Sera admitted freely, shaking her head. "And believe me, I was watching. It's almost as if some kind of invisible force pushed her out of the window. Here, you can still see the cracks in the glass when her body hit them at first, before they gave way."

"The window was unlocked when ya got here?" Heiji asked, carefully glancing at them. It was a good thing that they had something else to focus on at the moment, or he was half certain that Sera would have some questions for his odd behavior earlier- she was still looking at him a bit oddly from the corner of her eyes. "Judgin' from the locks on the doors, I don't get the feelin' our victim's the type ta leave her windows unlocked, even if she is on the fifth floor."

"Yeah, I thought that was strange as well. It's possible that the culprit might have unlocked them in advance." Sera noted. "If there really was someone she was hiding in her room while we were speaking to her, then it's possible that they could have set up some kind of trap to ensure Madeline fell to her death. Unlocking the windows would ensure that they would open to let her fall out in the first place."

"Or maybe our culprit's invisible." Heiji half joked, not really meaning it. He'd still be able to pick up traces of an invisible culprit- their heartbeat, the sound of their breathing, their scent. There was none of that here- in fact, apart from Sera's own, the only other scent lingering in the apartment was Madeline's. "Or perhaps it was some kind of invisible force."

That was less of a joke, and more of a very real possibility.

"Either way, it seems like someone didn't want the victim talkin' to us an' decided ta ensure that she wouldn't." Glancing out the window himself now, he briefly caught the eye of Kazuha, the two of them exchanging a bit of silent communication with one another. Just from her expression alone, he could tell if she was asking if it was more of _that_ kind of trouble- to which he gave her a quick nod, silently telling her that this was very possible.

Perhaps it might be a good idea to try and send her home. Well, even if he brought it up to her, he knew she'd never go for it. Still, he didn't like the idea of putting her in harm's way, not when it appeared that they were dealing with some kind of force that they couldn't even _see_.

Whatever the case, it seemed more urgent than ever that the speak to the last three names on that list- with Amelia Hayden's daughter, Caroline, being the most imperative. There definitely was a connection between the painter who had become the fourth victim, and the serial murders- a connection that ran deeper than _just_ being one of the victims.

As possibly dangerous as these developments might be, Heiji still couldn't help but find himself almost smiling- a fierce grin of excitement and anticipation. It had been awhile since he'd worked on a case like this. It was more than enough to get his detective's blood boiling.

* * *

If Jodie had to be completely honest with herself, she was currently at something of a loss. Her fellow coworkers had managed to locate the last two names on the list- Peter Clay, who turned out to be a dancer, and Andrew Faulkner, who turned out to be a songwriter, but before they could even consider calling them to ask them some questions, or sending someone out to speak with them, more bad news turned up.

They were both dead. Within the past three hours, even. Peter Clay had been struck by a car- the driver of the car claimed that they had lost control of the wheel, in spite of no evidence of such a thing being found by the mechanics who checked it over. Andrew Faulkner had lost his balance while stringing up some lights for a show he was helping out on, and had wound up strangling himself.

They both appeared to be accidents, which was what the local police had concluded, but honestly, it was too much to be a coincidence. Still, it would have been impossible for one culprit to kill three people, including Madeline Craven, who Sera was rather _insistent_ that she had been pushed out of her window, over the course of three hours in three _completely different states_. It just couldn't be done.

Was there more than one culprit involved in all of this? It wasn't out of the realm of possibility. And what _exactly_ did those three know that made it so imperative for the culprit- or _culprits_ \- to kill them? _Had_ Amelia Hayden been involved in the original three murders after all? Even so, that wouldn't explain how this would have been something all four of her pupils, including the one who had been killed much earlier, all would have known this. Heiji had been completely on the mark when he had said that there was something fishy about this case.

It was a small miracle that Caroline Hayden had arrived unscathed, though they had taken no small amount of caution in escorting her to their temporary headquarters. Until the danger passed, they would ensure that she would be watched over, just in case she too, was the next target. When she'd been informed that all four of her mother's former disciples were dead, a shocked look crossed her face.

"I didn't speak to many of them aside from Madeline after my mother's... passing." Caroline began, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear, once she finally found her voice again. "But it's hard to believe that they could all be gone like this. I didn't even know about Elizabeth's death."

"Did Madeline never mention it?" Jodie asked. She was seated right across from the young woman. She'd elected to speak to her alone, without the presence of the two high school detectives- although they were listening to them speak in another room. She thought it was for the best that Caroline only deal with the official face of the investigation, for the time being, at least.

"No." Caroline said, shaking her head. "We only talked about things like work, really. She just called me every so often to check up on me, to see if everything was alright. I can't believe that something like this could have happened to her... could have happened to _any_ of them."

"Is there anyone you think that might have been interested in doing any of them harm?" Jodie asked, a serious look on her face, as much sympathy as she felt for the young woman. This wasn't easy news to take, after all.

"No." Caroline shook her head, red curls dancing in the air as she did so. She paused then, a considering look crossing her face. "Well, Madeline did mention something to me once about a stalker, but that was over four months again, and I haven't heard anything since about the matter."

Quickly making a mental note to look into that, Jodie frowned. "How about your mother, Caroline? I know it's been quite some time now since she died, but have you been able to think of anything new regarding her case?"

After a moment of deep thought, amber eyes narrowed, Caroline finally shook her head. "No. I really can't think of anything. Do you think my mother's death might be related to all of this?"

"It's a possibility we're looking into." Jodie said simply, not wanting to elaborate at the moment. As sympathetic as she felt for this girl, it wasn't impossible that she might somehow be linked to the second string of serial murders. It was far too early to eliminate the demure young woman from the suspect pool, especially when it was possible that there could be more than one culprit. Did a separate person carry out the murders, and a separate person paint them?

The fact that there might be two separate people involved in this case was bone chilling. She'd become accustomed to dealing with cold bloodied killers as she chased the Organization- but the paintings added an entire new dimension to the haunting nature of the case.

Still, in the back of her mind, a vague idea was forming that might answer one of the questions- why had the culprits waited eight years before starting the murders again? If the sixth victim had been able to dig up information about them that had made the culprits target her, it wasn't impossible that someone else might have done the same as well- someone with far more macabre tastes.

Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to look into the angle of someone commissioning the paintings again. There was no reason to believe that the paintings that had been delivered to the police were the only ones in existence, after all. Although information about this case was restricted to the public, it wasn't as if it was _impossible_ to come by, especially if you had the right connections. And anyone who was rich enough to commission such pieces in the first place would have a _wealth_ of those.

If the paintings from the past four murders had managed to catch someone's eye, then... it wasn't impossible to say that they might have paid for more. It was a disgusting, gut churning thought- but Jodie knew full well that this world had no shortage of disgusting people, with equally disgusting hobbies. Perhaps there had been a patron for the first string of murders after all.

Perhaps said patron could have even been the fourth victim herself.

"I'll help you any way that I can, Miss Starling." Caroline spoke up, a grim expression crossing her face. "Please, if there's anything I can do, please let me know. I'll try and think as hard as I can and try to remember anything that might be useful to you."

"Good." Jodie said, with a nod of her head. "For the time being, we'll make sure that you're always escorted by someone. I'm not certain if whoever is behind this would want to target you as well, but I'd rather not risk it."

Although judging from Sera's description of Madeline Craven's final moments, Jodie couldn't help but wonder if there actually would have been anything that they could do to stop them. Still, after facing the terror of that Organization down multiple times, there was _no way_ she was going to back away from a case that only involved your run of the mill serial murderers.

Not a chance.

* * *

"I have a theory." Kazuha began, her arms folded in front of her chest, a rather serious expression on her face. Heiji had been wondering what it was that she had called him out to this isolated part of the building to do, the two of them having once again returned to the same stairwell as before. "Don't laugh at it though."

"I promise I won't." Heiji quickly reassured her, giving her an easy grin. "Let's hear it, Kazuha."

"What if this case involves witchcraft?" Were it not for the rather serious expression on her face, he would have almost thought she was joking. Certainly, they had dealt with magic in the past already- but it was most seals and barriers, not to mention the interconnected series of portals that existed all over the world. That last one was something Heiji was still having trouble wrapping his head around, mostly due to the expanse of it, as much as he'd started to take advantage of them from time to time.

But witchcraft?

"So yer sayin' witches." Heiji said after a moment, a slight frown crossing his features. "Well, I guess it wouldn't be impossible, but what makes ya think that? I think it's still a little too early ta jump ta magic, Kazuha."

"Well, what else could this painter lady have been teaching 'em that they don't want to talk about?" Kazuha asked, placing her hands on her hips, conviction in her eyes. "You and I both know full well that magic's quite real, so why not witchcraft? It'd explain a thing or two about the weirdness of this case. I bet a witch _could_ kill three people in three different states in three hours."

"Well, that's probably true." Heiji admitted, tilting his head in thought. "Well, I'll keep in mind at least. That's _definitely_ not a theory we'll be able to share with the other two though, huh?"

"Why do ya think I called ya all the way out here just ta ask ya about it?" Kazuha asked, heaving a long sigh. "Well, ya might be right that it's a little too early for thinking about that sort of thing, but I just wanted to try a little out of the box thinking! I'm better at it than you anyways, which is _weird_ , since yer the one who's a vampire."

"S'not really that weird." Heiji said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Yer the one who has believed in this sort of thing since you were a kid, after all. I thought it was a bunch of nonsense." With a snort, Heiji shook his head, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, ya can see how well that worked out fer me, huh? Now I'm neck deep in the stuff. Even when I think I've gotten a normal case, it turns out it might not be so normal after all."

"Well, don't say that, Heiji." Kazuha frowned a little, not liking it when he got that kind of look in his eyes. "I mean, to be frank, you were already pretty weird even before this whole vampire business, so it's not like it's anything new, at least."

"Wow, thanks." Came Heiji's dry reply, half glowering at his childhood friend, in spite of knowing that she was teasing him. "If _I'm_ weird, what does that make the person who's hung out with me all my life then?"

"Sympathetic." Kazuha said, placing her hands over her heart. "A kind, carin' soul, lookin' out fer a troubled one."

"Is this where I'm supposed ta try some kinda line about havin' an angel watchin' out fer me or somethin'?" Heiji asked, folding his arms in front of his chest, giving Kazuha another quick grin, laughter clear in his expression- and that was _exactly_ what she wanted to see. It suited him better than being depressed or worried about something.

"Don't even try. Comin' from you, it'd just be a laugh riot." Kazuha told him, beaming a little herself now. "Well, it'd be a corny line comin' from just about anyone though."

"That Hakuba guy would probably say it without hesitation." Heiji noted, recalling the way that he'd hit on that girl detective that one time. "But yer right. Those types of lines really don't suit me. 'Sides, yer not really much of an angel anyways, Kazuha."

"How rude. I'll have you know I'm perfectly angelic." Kazuha said, puffing out her cheeks a little. "But listen, Heiji! You keep my theory in mind, okay? There's _definitely_ something weird going on here. I saw that much myself today! Sera-chan's really right, it really did look like someone pushed that Madeline woman right out of that window."

"That much I'm not doubtin', Kazuha." Heiji admitted. "Well, yer gonna need ta be extra careful yerself okay? If it gets real bad here, I want ya ta go home by yerself. I know yer worried about me, but I'm worried about ya too, an' I don't wanna see ya put yerself in danger by bein' here."

"But _Heiji_ -" Kazuha spoke up, grumbling a little as he lifted a finger to cut her off.

"No buts. I know, I know yer strong, Kazuha, I've got no doubts about that. But I'm still worried about ya, ya got that?" Heiji told her, placing his hands on her shoulders, locking eyes with her. "I won't do anythin' behind her back like try an' trick ya with hypnosis or anythin', but I want ya ta promise me that if things get real bad, you'll be out on the next flight home. Okay?"

Locking eyes with him for a long moment, Kazuha eventually heaved a long sigh. "If yer that worried about me Heiji, then I'll promise. In return, I don't want ya shooing me away until we're certain that this case is gonna get real bad. I _can_ protect myself, ya know."

"I know." Heiji said with a wide grin. "That's part of what I love about ya, Kazuha."

At his frank word, Kazuha couldn't help but feel her cheeks heat up a little bit, coughing in her hand to cover it up. "W-well, that's-"

Anything that she wanted to say was cut off by the faint sound of Heiji's stomach growling, and her expression shifted once more, sending a slight glower his way. As Heiji averted his eyes from her, she heaved an exasperated sigh, rubbing her forehead. "Don't tell me that seein' me blush made ya hungry, Heiji."

"...It's not entirely impossible." Heiji confessed, scratching his cheek, still not quite meeting her eyes, feeling his own cheeks grow somewhat red in response. "Was out in the sun a lot today."

"Honestly, ya glutton." Kazuha huffed, before carefully glancing around. There weren't any video cameras around here either, so... Tugging the collar of her shirt aside somewhat so that she exposed her neck to him, she gave him an expectant look. "Come on, take a quick bite before anyone comes along. We can't have ya runnin' on low fuel."

"Sorry, Kazuha." The words slipped out with ease, as he'd said them any number of times. As willingly as Kazuha would offer him her blood, there were times he'd rather not take it- even when he knew he needed it. It couldn't be helped- this wasn't how he was expecting their relationship to turn out, after all. It almost felt as if he was taking advantage of her somehow, and that wasn't something that he cared much for. "I'll make it quick."

Giving a testing listen for the sound of any approaching footsteps, and resolving that they were well and truly alone, Heiji felt his fangs emerge in a flash. The sensation of biting into someone's flesh was something he could never get used to, even after all this time. The way that Kazuha shuddered a little underneath his touch was something he _never wanted_ to get used to.

If he could have chosen his fate, he'd much rather have suffered the same one as Kudo- being shrunken down into a seven year old ultimately sounded much more pleasant than becoming an undead bloodsucker. At least he'd still be human- and also _not dead_.

Pulling away from Kazuha after a moment, using his arms to steady her as she took a few moments to come out of her daze, Heiji held her carefully, watching the two pinprick marks that he had left behind on her throat close. They never quite fully healed, which bothered him, and it was something he'd been meaning to consult with Mitsuta about. She said that the scars didn't bother her, but they bothered _him_.

"The daze is actually a bit relaxing, once ya get used to it." Kazuha confessed as she slowly regained her senses, giving Heiji a small smile. Tucking her collar back up, using it to somewhat cover the two pinprick scars, she stood on her tiptoes, planting a quick kiss on his forehead. She'd kiss his lips, but there was still blood stained around the edges of them- her _own_ blood. That was a _wee bit_ awkward for her, so forehead kisses it was.

"Well let me tell ya, it sure as heck wasn't fer _me_." Heiji noted, licking the rest of the blood away from his lips, using the inside of his sleeve to remove any leftover traces of it. He could not go back into a room full of FBI investigators with Kazuha's blood staining his lips. Letting his fangs shrink back into sharpened canines once again, Heiji slowly let go of her, watching as she grew more steady on her feet.

"Well, you got all of yers taken out of ya, so it's no surprise." Kazuha noted, this time pausing to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "But if yer ever worryin' that it's as bad as what ya experienced when ya do it ta me, let me reassure you the answer is _no_ , Heiji."

"That's... that's good ta know, actually." Heiji sheepishly admitted, carefully rubbing the back of his neck with an awkward smile. "Still. Let me know if it ever does get real unpleasant. I don't want that."

"I know." Kazuha said, her tone light as she patted his cheek with a smile. She was still a bit woozy, but it was nothing that she couldn't handle. She'd gotten used to this, after all. "Let's go back ta where everyone is now, Heiji. We've probably been gone fer too long anyways."

No sooner than had they stepped out of the stairwell, did Heiji catch something that caught his interest- it appeared that there was some kind of commotion going on back in the main room. Had something happened while they were gone?

"Oh, Hattori-kun!" Jodie glanced up at him. There was something of a strange look on her face. "Good timing, I was just about to go looking for you."

"Well no need, cause I'm here." Heiji stated plainly, blinking a little. "Did somethin' happen, Jodie-han?"

"The sixth painting came." Jodie told him, her eyes narrowing slightly. "And not to the police this time either. It was mailed here, addressed to this building."

"A challenge, maybe?" Heiji asked, somewhat surprised by this information. Even when the FBI had been investigating the case in the past, the painting had still always been mailed to the local police station, time after time. They had thoroughly checked out how it had gotten into the postal system every time, but each time, they had never turned anything concrete up. He doubted it would go any differently this time. "Have ya unwrapped it yet?"

"No, we're checking it for anything dangerous first." Jodie told him, almost looking as if she was considering something- whatever it was, she quickly came to a decision, nodding her head. "The package was addressed to this building, but it wasn't addressed to _us_ , Hattori-kun."

"Who was it fer then?" Heiji asked, tilting his head to the side.

"You." Jodie told him, locking eyes with the high school detective. "It was addressed to you."


	6. The Final Ride of the Dullahan

**AN** : Here's the sixth chapter! Sadly, I have to take a bit of time in this author's note to remind everyone that I do not, under any circumstances, enjoy being hassled about updating. I appreciate that you're excited about the story that I'm writing, anon whose 'review' I had to delete three times (one would think that would tell you something), but if you really want to encourage me to update, leaving me a review detailing why you're so excited to see the next chapter come out rather than hassling me about getting it out in the first place, would be far more considerate of me as a fellow human being. This is just good fanfic etiquette in general, really! Please remember that the authors writing your favorite fics are fellow humans, and _not_ fanfic generating machines- if you _really_ want to support and encourage us, leave us a real review, don't just hassle us to update soon! That will usually only have the _exact opposite effect_ in taking all of our motivation to do so from us! This fic gets so little real reviews as it is (last chapter there were only two!), so it was super demotivating to see that the three new reviews that I got were all from the same anon, hassling me about updating the fic.

Seriously, take it from someone who has been writing fic for ages.

Anyways, with that out of the way, I thank you for reading as always. Until next time!

* * *

 **Bloodsport**

 **Chapter Six**

 **The Final Ride of the Dullahan**

* * *

"To me?"

"There's no mistake." Jodie said, a serious expression on her face. "Your name was clearly written on the label, Hattori-kun."

"But why to Heiji?" Kazuha spoke up, a deep frown crossing her face, protectively pulling Heiji closer to her out of instinct, linking their arms. "How did they even know he was here? Or anythin' about him in the first place?"

"We're trying to figure that out." Jodie said, turning to look towards Heiji, locking eyes with him. "Can you think of any reason, Hattori-kun? I've half a mind to send you home because of this development. This gives me an uneasy feeling."

"Ah, well..." Heiji opened his mouth, before trailing off a little, half uncertain what to say. Glancing down towards Kazuha, feeling her grip on his arm tighten slightly, he rubbed the back of his head with his free one. He could tell her the fact that he thought he felt as if there was someone watching them back at the house of the sixth victim... but that might be giving out more information than he should. "I don't really know myself, Jodie-han. It's kind of creepy, though."

"Maybe the culprit's been watching us from somewhere?" Sera's voice startled the group, the three turning to find her standing in the doorway, giving them something of an awkward grin. "They finished checking out the package downstairs, so I thought I would bring up the message. They don't think there's anything suspicious about it, so they want you and Jodie-san to be there when it's opened up, Hattori-kun."

"If the culprit's been watching us from the start, then it _would_ explain as to how they knew we had been in contact with Madeline Craven." Jodie mused, placing a hand on her chin, her brows furrowing together. "But if that were the case, why did they allow us to make contact with her in the first place?"

"Maybe they only took notice of us right after that? Since we were at the scene." Sera proposed. Something about that didn't quite sit right with her though. It wasn't as if she had much of a reputation here herself, but it wasn't as if Heiji were well known outside of Japan either, so the fact that they had been able to correctly identify him and had furthermore took an apparent interest in him- it bothered her.

Perhaps it was simply the novelty of having a Japanese high school detective trying to track them down that entertained them, to the point of doing something like this. It might also very well be some kind of warning- telling him to butt out of the case and return home, before they turned their attention towards him. Somehow she got the feeling that Heiji wasn't going to do that at all- and she couldn't blame him. She was exactly the same way, after all.

"It's possible." Heiji said finally, slowly nodding his head. Well, it was the logical conclusion- but he couldn't shake the feeling that the reason it had been sent to him had _everything_ to do with what he was, though he hoped he was wrong for once. Maybe Kazuha was on to something- he didn't know about _witchcraft_ just yet, but it was starting to feel more and more like there was some kind of supernatural element to this case. "But I guess if they went through the trouble of sendin' me their latest work, I guess I might as well take a look at it."

"He's right." Jodie said, nodding her head. "We've already begun to try and trace where the package came from, but I don't know if we'll have any luck. Anyways, let's go. Have the analysts already been called?"

"That's what they said downstairs." Sera told her, giving her a curt nod of her head. Stepping aside so that the other three could pass through the door, Sera fell into step behind them, carefully watching Heiji with a somewhat critical eye. If it was just being investigated by a high school detective that interested them, then it was a bit curious as to why her own name hadn't been included on the label as well. Was there something special about Heiji that had caused them to single him out?

Well, between the two of them, she was willing to admit he was probably the more well known. There were reasons why she couldn't stand in the limelight herself that much, but it wasn't as if she didn't get her fair amount of coverage. Well, although that would probably be for the best- if people looked for her name, they'd notice right away that she was lying about being from America.

With a slight blink, Sera couldn't help but find her gaze straying over towards Kazuha. Squinting her eyes, she watched as the girl's collar slightly shifted as she slowly let go of her vice grip on Heiji's arm, settling for simply holding his hand instead. For a moment, she caught a glimpse of those two bothersome scars that she'd noticed on the nape of her neck the very first night after they'd met each other. For some reason, they looked a bit more raw than they had when she'd first taken notice of them- as if they had been opened back up recently.

That was kind of odd. Rather, how did one get scars like that in the first place? They were a bit too big to be needle pinpricks, which was the only thing she could think of off the top of her head that would have created such circular scars. It would be an odd place to have such a thing anyways. Besides that, Kazuha didn't seem as if she was sick- she was the picture of perfect health, really. If anything, it was _Heiji_ who seemed as if he might be ill, given his abnormally low body temperature and his unusually weak pulse.

If she didn't know any better, it was almost like he didn't have one. There was no way something like that could be true, of course. If that was the case, then that would have to mean that she was dealing with someone who was _already dead_ \- and such a thing was impossible. Besides that, he _was_ breathing- though there were things that worried her about the rate in which he drew breath as well, half feeling as if he did it less than he should. She got the feeling that other people might not be able to pick up on such things that easily, and that it was only her own powers of observation that allowed her to do so.

Still, if she had to pick out the one thing that bothered her the most about him, she would have to go for the eyes. It wasn't even something she had noticed right away, but had only gradually come to realize over time, but now that she had, she couldn't get it out of her head. There were times when his eyes felt almost lifeless, when they weren't lit up by some kind of emotion- which was usually the case. Hattori Heiji, she had quickly come to understand, was both expressive and emotional, so it wasn't often to see him wearing a neutral expression. When he did, those blue eyes of his grew strangely dull, as if the glimmer of life usually contained within had long since faded from them.

Maybe he had some kind of disease? Whatever it was didn't seem to interfere with his day to day life, at the very least.

"It's huge!" Kazuha was the first one to speak as they entered the room where the package was waiting for them, almost towering over all four of them. It was leaned up against one of the walls, and for a moment, she couldn't help but wonder how they had gotten it in here in the first place. Probably with great care, she thought to herself.

"Ah, that's right. Ya didn't come with me when I went ta look at the one back at the station, did ya?" Heiji asked, glancing down at her. "That one was about as big as this one. I heard they're all supposed ta be more or less this size?"

"That's right." Jodie said, giving him a curt nod of her head, before she turned towards her two fellow agents. "Go ahead and unwrap it. Be careful not to destroy any potential evidence while you do so. We might as well take a look at what's been sent to us, if this is indeed some kind of challenge."

Acknowledging her orders, the two agents set to work, beginning the rather painstaking process of unwrapping the painting, careful not to disturb anything that might be used as evidence later. It would all be thoroughly examined later on. Fingerprints had been taken from the package, but she doubted that they would turn up anything from that avenue- they were probably only the prints of the postal workers who had processed the package in the first place. Said workers would also be tracked down and questioned thoroughly, but she doubted that would turn up much of anything either- after the culprit had spent so long being careful, she doubted that they would make a mistake now.

Paint samples would be taken from the painting itself, to see if they could trace the manufacturer- but it would impossible to narrow it down further from there. Still, even knowing the type of paint that had been used might provide them with a slight advantage, provided that they could ever get any suspects to question in the first place. If they had been seen buying the type of paint needed to paint the painting in the first place, then that would at the very least be enough to hold them for questioning for a little while.

"Another creepy paintin'." Heiji mused aloud as the painting itself finally began to surface, the last layer of wrapping that concealed it from view carefully pulled away. "So this is our late freelance reporter, then?"

"Turned into a headless horseman, apparently." Kazuha said with a slight frown. She had seen the photographs from Heiji's files, of course, but she wasn't quite prepared for the scale of the real thing- no wonder they took so long to paint in the first place. If she didn't know the story behind it, she might actually find the painting somewhat breathtaking, an impressive feat that wouldn't be out of place in any gallery.

But somehow, she got the feeling that even if she _didn't_ know the story behind it, it still would have given off this same creepy feeling. There was something almost _loving_ about the care that had been taken in getting every last detail down, in spite of the morbid subject matter.

"A dullahan, rather." Sera said, stepping up next to her, her eyes carefully scanning every inch of the painting. It was a night scene, the figure of the headless dullahan woman and her equally headless steed, forever trapped in time in the fantastical portrait. A full moon provided light to the otherwise dark figures, illuminating a rather morbid scene, the eyes of the dullahan's head, still carefully cradled in it's arms, having long since dulled with death, her mouth painted agape in disbelief at the golden spear that pierced through her chest. "That's it's title, according to the placard. It's The Final Ride of the Dullahan, apparently."

"A dullahan?" Kazuha asked, chancing a glance over towards Heiji.

"It's exactly what ya said earlier. A headless horseman." Heiji told her, shrugging his shoulders. Ever since he had gotten involved in this kind of life, he'd been doing a good deal of research into the world he now found himself residing in. He had become almost frustratingly knowledgeable about this sort of thing lately. "They're Irish fairies, originally. The _bad_ kind, naturally."

"I didn't really take you much as the type to know anything about folklore, Hattori-kun." Sera couldn't help but observe, casting a curious eye towards him. "Are you interested in that sort of thing?"

"Ya might say I don't have much of a choice in the matter." Heiji couldn't help note, glancing back down towards Sera. "A vampire, a werewolf, a faerie queen, a devil, a banshee, and now a dullahan. Makes ya wonder what they're plannin' on doin' next. There's no doubt that they're probably already lookin' fer the next victim as we speak."

"There's a high chance of that." Jodie noted with a slight frown, letting out a long breath, turning her gaze away from the painting. "Hattori-kun, if you insist on continuing to investigate this matter, I want you to be very careful. This could be intended as a warning for you. The same goes for both of you, Sera-san, Toyama-san."

"She's right, Heiji!" Kazuha insisted, a slight frown crossing her features. Given their earlier discussion, she couldn't help but worry a little that he might try and send her away after this- but like hell she was going _anywhere_ when there was a chance that it could be Heiji who might be the one in danger. She had already come too close to losing him several times already, ever since he became a vampire, she didn't want to leave him behind when he might be in danger, no matter what she had promised him.

"Why Hattori-kun, though?" Sera asked, glancing over towards him, unable to conceal her assessing gaze. "If they really have been watching us, it would make more sense for them to address the package to Jodie-san, since she's the one formally spearheading this investigation. Why you?"

"I don't really have an answer ta that." Heiji said after a moment, glancing between Jodie and Sera, both of whom had turned somewhat expectant gazes towards him. Well, he an idea, but it wasn't one that the could give voice to- honestly, dealing with people who didn't know his secret was troublesome. He wondered if this was how Kudo felt sometimes. "Ya'd have ta ask the culprit yerself, I guess."

"Well, we obviously can't do that." Jodie said, heaving a sigh. "Why did you come out all this way in the first place, Hattori-kun? Conan-kun never told me why you had taken an interest in this case, and I didn't really think that it was a big deal before, but with this development, I can't help but be a little worried."

Well, that was a fair point. Exchanging a look with Kazuha, she nodded her head, squeezing his hand somewhat tighter. As long as he didn't tell them too many of the details, it would probably be more or less alright to tell them his reasons for accepting this case. "I made a promise with someone." Heiji said after a moment, a rare serious expression crossing his face. "I'm sure ya remember that panic about those serial murders that took place in Tokyo recently, right, Jodie-han?"

"Yes, of course I do." Jodie said, nodding her head. While she had been somewhat distracted by her own thoughts at the time, there was no way that she had managed to miss something like that. Not with the way it seemed to be buzzing on almost everyone's lips. If she recalled correctly, although the culprit was eventually tracked down, by the time they found him, he had already committed suicide, taking knowledge of how he had committed the strange series of murders with him. "Did you have some kind of involvement with that case, Hattori-kun?"

"Well, ya might say that." Heiji said after a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. For a while, he had ended up becoming as suspect in that case- even if it had only been because of that other vampire's mental manipulation. "What matters about it is that one of the victims from that case was also involved in another case I worked on earlier. Three months before that case, there was another chain of serial murders in Osaka, carried out by a woman named Okubo Karen. The last known victim in the serial murder case from Tokyo, Claire Grady, was that woman's accomplice."

Well, it was probably best to leave out the part where he had been attacked by them both for the moment. Given the nature of those murders, combined with the nature of the latter set of murders, he didn't want to risk either Sera nor Jodie starting to put two and two together and growing suspicious of him. The last thing that he needed was for anyone to suspect that they had a monster in their midst in the middle of this already troublesome case.

Well, monster probably wasn't quite right- even now, he didn't feel like he was one. He'd become one, briefly, and from that experience alone, he knew full well that he wasn't anything close to a real monster. Still, that's probably how most people would view it- and he didn't exactly know how much Jodie and Sera would trust him if they realized that the one they were dealing with was the undead.

It was best that they didn't.

"Grady?" Jodie blinked, the name striking her. "You surely can't mean...?"

"I do." Heiji nodded his head. "She was the niece of the first victim in this case, Marie Grady. Well, I doubt that the cases they were involved in at all related though, so that's got nothin' ta do with it. After Okubo-han helped me out with another case, I promised her that I would look into this matter myself in return. That's how I ended up here."

Well, actually, his father had been the one to make that promise- come to think of it, it would probably be for the best if he took to carrying around that sword again. It would probably raise a few questions- namely how he had managed to get it into the country in the first place, but as long as he didn't let anyone know what exactly it was, there probably wouldn't be any problems. Better safe than sorry, especially when he wasn't quite sure anymore _what_ they were dealing with here.

"I heard about the serial murder case in Osaka as well, a little about it, at least." Jodie observed, a slight frown crossing her face as she mulled over what Heiji had told her. He seemed confident that the three cases were ultimately unrelated, nothing bringing them together other than a mere chain of coincidence- and as many uncertain details as there still were about this case, she didn't doubt that he was right. These things did happen, from time to time, she'd already seen things like this happen before. "To think that these cases would be tied together by something like this. I guess the world's not as large as we think it is sometimes."

"But even if that culprit knew something like that, it's not really much motivation to single you out, is it?" Sera asked with a frown, folding her arms in front of her. The fact that he had gotten a request from a convicted serial murderer of all people intrigued her, and she couldn't shake the feeling that there was definitely more to that story than he was telling them. As much as she hated to admit it, she wasn't familiar with either of the cases that he had mentioned- but she got the feeling they'd be rather easy to look up.

"Right." Heiji said, nodding his head. "Unless there was some special reason the first victim was chosen in the first place." He mused, his brows furrowing a little. "Come ta think of it, I wonder how the victims were chosen in the first place? It's true that the first victim lived rather out of the way, so that might have had somethin' ta do with it, but... I wonder about the others."

"I doubt it's because they were all looking into the case." Jodie said, planting her hands on her hips, her gaze turning back towards the painting, lingering on the all too vivid expression painted on the decapitated head of the figure in the painting. "Otherwise there would have been more to indicate that. It's true that the fourth victim had a connection to the case as well, but aside from her..." Trailing of a little and shaking her head, Jodie turned back to face them. "The others seemed fairly unrelated. All possible connections between them were thoroughly checked in the past, but..."

"Nothin' came up?" Kazuha asked.

"That's correct." Jodie told her. "In any case, our first step from here on out is to let the analysts do their work."

"Why don't you get the daughter to look at the painting herself?" Sera asked, turning towards the enormous painting in question again. "If it's really in her mother's style, she would probably know better than anyone else."

"That's true." Jodie said with a frown, her brows furrowing together. She hadn't quite voiced the fact that she still had some lingering suspicions in regards to the daughter to them just yet- it was nothing more than a hunch that wouldn't go away. After all, she had still be a child when the first murder had occurred, normally, there would be no reason to suspect her. Still, there was something there, though she didn't know quite what.

Briefly, she couldn't help but wonder if the daughter was related to Shu's unresolved doubt about the matter of the fourth murder. If only he were still here to ask. While it would have been unlikely for someone that young to be involved in something like this, still... it wasn't impossible.

"You have a good point, Sera-san." Jodie said after a moment, turning to look towards the young trio, giving them something of a haggard smile. "Well then, we detained the postal workers who brought us the package in the first place. Hattori-kun, Sera-san, why don't the two of you question them? It would be a help to us if you could cover the trail of the package while I deal with the daughter and the analysts alike."

"That's fine." Sera said, nodding her head, not missing the deft way that Jodie had ensured that they once again wouldn't directly cross paths with daughter in question. Was there some reason for that? It was true that she couldn't shake the feeling that the daughter was somehow suspicious herself, even if age worked in favor of her innocence. That was back then, however- now she was a proper adult, fully capable of killing someone. If she was lying about her ability to paint, then...

Still, even if that was the case, that would have meant that she would have killed her mother. It was a chilling thought. Glancing briefly over towards Heiji, she got the feeling that he was more or less thinking along the same lines as she was- though there was a glimmer of something more in his eyes.

It was fairly easy to guess what it was that Jodie wasn't quite telling them about her thoughts in regards to this case- but it was a far more difficult matter to make out what it was that _Heiji_ wasn't telling them. Kazuha gave her no obvious clues either, though she didn't doubt that she was someone that he confided such thoughts to, other than the obvious worry that she held within her gaze- and that in itself was nothing unusual, given her close connection to Heiji.

There was definitely something about this case that was fishy, Sera thought to herself. But all the same, there was definitely something about her fellow high school detective that was _just_ as fishy.

And honestly, she was _quite_ interested in getting to the bottom of _both_ mysterious cases.

* * *

"Eh? Hattori-kun isn't going to join us again?" Sera blinked, a slight frown crossing her features, as she made another mental tally mark. This was the third time that Heiji had turned down coming to dinner with them- even though Jodie had generously offered to pay for their meal that night, as thanks for helping her out during the day. She had taken care of all hotel arrangements herself, wanting to keep them close on the off chance that something happened to them, probably. Apparently she had quite the large inheritance from her parents to burn through, and not all that much to use it on, generally speaking.

Somehow, it was somewhat reassuring to see that her late brother's coworker was a good person. She hadn't expected to cross paths with her, but she wasn't going to miss this chance to gather as much information as she might be able to from her.

"Yeah." Kazuha said, slowly nodding her head. That was definitely a look of suspicions that had crossed Sera's face- she _had_ told Heiji that people were going to find his constant absence at mealtimes to be more than a little odd after awhile. Well, it wasn't like she could blame him, really- she knew full well just how much trouble it was for him to try and eat normal food. "Like I said before, Heiji's got a surprisingly sensitive stomach."

"You did say that." Sera said, nodding her head, tucking her hands into her pockets. "Forgive me for asking, Kazuha-chan, but is Hattori-kun sick or something?"

"Eh?" Kazuha blinked, a startled look crossing her face. "Sick?"

"Yeah." Sera said simply. "His body temperature is pretty low, isn't it? Combined with the fact that he doesn't appear to have much of an appetite, and his weak pulse, I couldn't help but wonder if maybe he was sick."

"Sick, huh..." A slight frown crossed Kazuha's features, as she slowly nodded her head. She had expected her to notice his low body temperature and strange eating habits- but she was a bit surprised that she had picked up on what she had deemed as just a weak pulse as well. That was a detective for you. "Well, I guess ya could say that it's somethin' like a sickness. Ah, but it's not contagious or anything like that, an' it's not like it puts his life or livelihood in danger or anything like that."

 _Well, he's already dead though_ , she couldn't help but think to herself. But this was perfect- if she really could lead Sera into thinking that Heiji had some kind of odd illness, that might resolve _most_ of the lingering questions that she seemed to have in regards to him, if not all of them. Besides, if she was under the impression that he was sick, she might decide that it was rude to keep pressing the matter.

"That's good to hear." Sera said, a slight smile crossing her face. She didn't miss the strange way that Kazuha had reacted to her question, almost as if she found something about the explanation of Heiji being sick to be convenient. Still, she didn't press it, at least not at the moment. "Well, he does seem pretty healthy beyond all that, so I didn't think it was anything serious. I doubt his parents would let him come all this way more or less on his own if it really was something that put his life in danger."

"Yeah, so don't worry too much about it, Sera-san." Kazuha told her, tucking her hands behind her back, lacing her fingers together. "More importantly, what do ya make of this case? It's creepy, isn't it?"

"It's certainly that." Sera said, nodding her head. Frankly, her earlier failure was still chafing at her- even if she knew there was logically nothing that she could have done to save Madeline Craven's life, it was still frustrating to watch someone having been killed right in front of her, and that there was nothing that she could do about it. The local police seemed to want to close the case as a simple accident, but she was certain it was far more than that.

Somehow, in some way, that woman had been murdered.

"It feels like there's still several big pieces of the puzzle that are missing." Sera told her with a slight frown, before shaking her head. "Maybe a good night's sleep will allow me to look at everything with a clear head tomorrow morning though."

"That's true." Kazuha said, nodding her head. She hoped that she could convince Heiji to fall asleep tonight- she was kind of worried that the moment she drifted off to sleep, Heiji would leave their hotel room on his own. Maybe it was a bit too early to jump to the conclusion that the supernatural was involved in this case as more than just a motif to rather morbid paintings, but she couldn't shake her own instinct.

"Are you worried about him?" Sera asked.

"Yeah." Kazuha admitted, giving her a slightly sheepish smile. "Heiji has a bad habit of charging into things without thinkin' too much about them. He's put himself in danger time an' time again because of that before. Especially lately."

"Lately?" Sera asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Ah, no, it's nothin'!" Kazuha said quickly, shaking her head. "That's just what it feels like lately, that's all!"

"Hmm." Sera frowned a little, sounding slightly unconvinced. "I heard about what happened in that case from Osaka four months ago. He was attacked by the culprit of that case, wasn't he?"

Or rather, she had read up on the cases in question. She wasn't quite certain what she had been expecting, but it hadn't been two cases rumored to be linked by _vampires_ , of all things. A chain of serial murders in Osaka that people were trying to claim was the work of a vampire hunter- _absurd_!- and a chain of serial murders in Tokyo that people were still trying to claim was the work of a vampire- which was even _more_ absurd. Such things didn't exist.

"Ah, so ya heard about that..." Kazuha trailed off a little, slowly inclining her head. There was no reason to deny it if she had heard that much- it wasn't exactly uncommon knowledge that Heiji had been badly injured in a conflict with the culprit behind those attacks. Although they had managed to cover up the extent to which he had been injured, they had to explain the fact that his blood was found at the scene of the third murder somehow. "Yeah, he was. He got hurt pretty badly, too. I guess that's why I'm so worried this time around, because of that."

"Still, the culprit of that case sounds pretty bold." Sera couldn't help but observe. "Going so far as to attack and badly injure Hattori-kun, and then having the nerve to ask him to help her with something."

"Well, she's that sort of person." Kazuha said. Although it was true that he had fought against Okubo Karen as well, it was the murdered Claire Grady that had actually dealt him the most damage- cutting his right arm clean off and temporarily blinding him- not to mention gutting his throat like a fish. Really, he was lucky. If his father hadn't shown up when he had, he might have died a second time, this time in a far more permanent fashion.

Well, it was because of that attack that Heiji had been forced to tell his father the truth. After all, there was no other way to explain to him what he had just witnessed with his own two eyes- the deep gash on Heiji's throat closing up on it's own. There certainly would have been no other way to explain the fact that his right arm eventually grew back, nor to explain the fact that he'd quite literally walked in on Heiji taking a bite from her.

Things had felt a bit awkward in the Hattori household once everything had settled down after that, but slowly, things were gradually returning to normal. She imagined that it must be a hard thing for his parents to deal with- to know that their son had already died. The fact that the one who had done it had been caught and sealed away where he couldn't harm anyone else was probably just a cold comfort.

She didn't like dwelling on that part herself- the fact that her childhood friend, had known ever since they were in diapers, the one that she had held dear to her all of her life, even before she developed romantic feelings for him- had basically been murdered himself. She knew that it didn't sit easy with Heiji either, even though he had resolved the issue with his own two hands.

It hadn't been an easy thing, and she'd very nearly lost him in the worst way she could imagine. Never again. She would _never_ let something like that happen to him ever again.

"Well, Heiji's not really the type ta turn down a case in the first place, regardless of where it comes from." Kazuha told her. "It wouldn't be the first time that a case has been brought to his attention from rather shady places. He's gotten a lot of strange letters in the past. He seems to attract that sort of thing, rather."

Thank goodness that he did, otherwise people might take not of the sudden increase in cases that he had been involved in with a decidedly vaguely supernatural bent. It was probably for the best that he'd been drawn to that sort of thing since pretty much the start. Perhaps he was right- perhaps encountering this sort of fate was nothing short of inevitable for him. After having so many close calls with fakes in the past, it was probably only a matter of time before he finally ran into the real thing.

"Yeah, I kind of got that impression from him." Sera said with a quick smile, before turning her attention towards the lobby, carefully scanning it for any sign of the blonde woman. "Ah, Jodie-san! There you are!"

"Sera-san, Toyama-san." Jodie said, turning towards them, before frowning slightly, glancing a bit behind them. "Where's Hattori-kun?"

"Ah, he won't be joining us fer dinner." Kazuha said quickly, shaking her head. "He'll get somethin' ta eat later himself, so don't concern yerself about him, Jodie-sensei!"

"Are you sure?" Jodie asked, looking a bit doubtful, before she gave her a nod. "Well, if that's what you say. Now then, should we get something to eat? The lab said that they would give me a call if they turned up anything."

"Yes, let's. I'm actually a bit hungry myself." Sera admitted, glancing between the two, before turning her attention back the way they came, finding herself wondering for a brief moment exactly what kind of food didn't bother Heiji's stomach. It probably wasn't easy, traveling with some kind of illness that impacted what he could and couldn't eat.

Still- she couldn't help but wonder why she found her gaze trailing back down towards Kazuha's neck as she thought that.

* * *

"When exactly were you planning on calling me, Hattori?"

"Sorry, sorry, Kudo." Heiji was quick to apologize, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. His friend's stern tone came out loud and clear over the phone, and it was a bit easy to forget that the voice on the other end of the line belonged to what looked like a seven year old. "I've been a bit busy, that's all. A lot of things have turned up since I got here."

"A lot of things?" Conan inquired, the stern tone his voice had carried just a moment ago replaced by one of clear curiosity. "Like what? I've been keeping tabs on the news from where you are right now, but I haven't heard anything yet about the case."

"Ya probably won't." Heiji told him, shaking his head, before remembering that Conan couldn't see that over the phone. "Jodie-han's apparently workin' ta keep most of this stuff under wraps. Frankly, I don't blame her. There's somethin' about this case that I really don't like, Kudo."

"Somehow I don't really care for that tone, Hattori." Conan couldn't help but note, and he could almost picture his friend rubbing his forehead, trying to work out the early warning signs of a headache. "I thought you said this was a normal case?"

"That's what I thought!" Heiji huffed, before heaving a long sigh. "Well, I can't really say anythin' one way or another about it just yet. At most, it's just a strong feelin' I have at this point. I'd rather it turn out ta be a normal case myself, given the circumstances, but if it's not, well... I'll work somethin' out."

"That doesn't sound very reassuring." Conan frowned. "You are being careful right, Hattori? You know, in regards to your _condition_."

"What, ya mean bein' a livin' corpse?" Heiji half joked, unable to help quirk a grin at his own words. He could almost picture Conan's grimace on the other side of the phone, which admittedly, wasn't as satisfying as seeing it in person. "Don't worry about it, I'm bein' plenty careful. Even if someone does notice somethin' odd about me, they probably won't think that I'm a _vampire_."

"Well, that's true. But you know your own track record for keeping secrets, right?" Conan admitted. With distance between them, it was almost easy for him to forget himself sometimes. As the years passed however, it would become more and more obvious- Heiji wouldn't age like they would.

Well, at the very least, Conan could only hope that he would be his normal age again in a few years time. He didn't exactly envy Heiji his eternal youth.

"Hey now, I've kept yer secret plenty well, Kudo! Put some faith in me!" Heiji protested, nearly pouting. Well, sure he slipped up here and there but... "Besides, if worst comes ta worst I've still got that hypnosis ability after all. Ah, but that's right Kudo, ya'd never guess what I ran into over here."

"What?" Conan asked, mind briefly reeling from the sudden change in topic. "Another vampire?"

"No." Heiji snorted, shaking his head. "Another high school detective, actually. She says her name's Sera Masumi. Apparently she's been lookin' into this case herself as well, though I don't really know why."

"Eh, really?" Conan blinked, slightly frowning. "That's a surprise. Is she working with you now?"

"That's right." Heiji said. "Well, frankly, we could use all the help we could get. Like I said there's somethin' about this case that's buggin' me. On top of that, it appears as if the culprit has seemed ta take somethin' of an interest in me fer some reason."

"Eh?" Blinking, wondering if his concern was half as clear in his voice as he thought it might be, Conan frowned. "What do you mean by that, Hattori? Explain."

"Ya know about the paintings, right?" Heiji asked, and when he got confirmation from his friend that he did, he continued. "The sixth one finally arrived today. Only instead of bein' sent ta the local police station, it was addressed ta the buildin' that the FBI are usin' as their headquarters fer this investigation. And what's more, it was addressed ta me."

"Is that part of the reason why you think that there might be something abnormal about this case?" Conan asked, his brows furrowing. He somehow didn't like the sound of that- ah, seriously, why was the case taking place all the way over there, where he couldn't do anything to help him? First chance he got, he was going over to Subaru's place and asking him about the case.

"Part of it, yeah." Heiji said, closing his eyes, bringing up the image of the sixth painting in his mind's eyes. "There's more ta it though. Just when we thought we had finally found a lead, they ended up bein' killed. An' not just her either- we found a list with five names on it that were connected ta the case, and out of that list, only one of them is still alive. The daughter of the fourth victim, incidentally. What's more, accordin' to Sera-han's own testimony, it almost seems as if the lead we were tryin' ta speak with was killed by some kind of invisible force."

"Invisible force?" Conan asked. "Are you certain it wasn't some kind of trick?"

"It's too early ta say one way or another." Heiji said, shaking his head, opening his eyes and rising to his feet. Walking over towards the balcony, he opened it up and stepped outside, glancing down at the darkened night streets. Even though he was nearly eight floors up, he could still perfectly make out the people milling about on the streets down below him, eyes narrowing a little as he watched them. "But my instinct says this case might really be right up my alley."

"Still, be careful, Hattori." Conan said with a frown. "It still hasn't been long since you were drugged with that flower's scent. I'm still worried about that, honestly."

"Honestly, between you an' Kazuha, I'm surrounded by nothin' but worrywarts!" Flashing a broad grin, Heiji leaned back, resting his head against the glass of the balcony door. "There's nothin' that ya need ta worry about, Kudo. I feel fine. Dead, but fine."

"Hilarious." Conan dryly observed, heaving a rather long suffering sigh. And to think, he had at least a good eighty years or so of this ahead of him- and there was no doubt that Heiji would probably get worse about this sort of thing the older they got. "Well, you know you can always call me if you need someone to bump with heads with. Honestly, I'd rather leave those sorts of cases to you, Hattori, but it's not like you can really discuss it with Jodie-sensei or this Sera person if it turns out to be anything like you're dreading."

"How kind of ya, Kudo!" Heiji couldn't help but let his grin grow, pleased as punch at the offer. "I'll be sure ta keep yer offer in mind. Anyways, I'll let ya go fer now. The hell time is it over there anyways?"

"You didn't even check before you called me?" Conan grumbled- though frankly, he'd been half expecting that much. "Well, good luck, Hattori. Try and solve that case soon and come home. You could use a good dose of normalcy for awhile."

"I guess that's true." Heiji said. "Whatever the hell normal is supposed ta be fer me now anyways. Still haven't quite figured that one out yet."

"Hattori-" Conan began, but Heiji quickly cut him off.

"Don't worry about it, Kudo. That's somethin' I've got ta work out myself. Anyways, I'll call ya later if I've got anythin' I need ta discuss with ya." Heiji told him. "Until then." Hanging up his phone and tucking it back away, he let out a long sigh, forcing air from his lungs that he didn't actually need anymore. He hadn't realized how exhausting it could be to pretend that he was still a normal human until he was doing it in the presence of those with sharp eyes.

Well, it would be fine. There's no point in getting down about it. That wasn't the type of person he was. Glancing down towards the street below, a fond smile crept across his face, as he made out the figure of Kazuha far down below, returning with Jodie and Sera from eating dinner. He wondered if the leftovers that Kazuha was carrying was something that she had brought back for herself, or if it was something that she had been forced to bring to him- probably by Jodie, he thought.

It would be fine.


	7. Traces

**AN** : Without further delay, here's the seventh chapter! I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't get to fit in a bit that I wanted to in this chapter, but there's always the next for that, right? Anyways, thanks for reading, and please take a bit of time to leave a review if you could be so kind!

Until next time!

* * *

 **Bloodsport**

 **Chapter Seven**

 **Traces**

* * *

"Eh? Is that true?"

"Yeah." The delivery worker they were in the middle of questioning nodded his head, a little taken aback by the force with which the question had been asked, but nevertheless gave them a quick smile and answered it. "My buddy works for another delivery service, and said that he had a package just the same as the one ya'll got shipped out from his sorting station the day after mine. I brought it up to him since it was so unusual in the first place, but... is there something important about it?"

"Well, you could say that." Sera told him, exchanging a brief glance with Heiji. The previous day had come and gone, leaving them to pursue the matter of the package's origins. Like they thought, when they tracked where it had come from in the first place, they had found a dead end. It had been picked up from an apartment that had been rented to someone using a false name, and any efforts to track down the one who had rented it in the first place had turned up nothing. "Is there any chance you know where it was sent to?"

"No, I didn't ask." The man told her, shaking his head. "Well, I can at least give you the phone number of my friend, you could always ask him about it. I _do_ remember him saying that it was going to be delivered somewhere within the state though."

"That would be a big help." Heiji told him, flashing him a quick grin. It could simply be a coincidence, and the other similar package was entirely unrelated, but it was worth checking out. Maybe Jodie's theory that there was actually a patron this time around held some water after all. If that was the case, the culprit had taken care to ship them out using two different companies to reduce the chances of such a thing being discovered- but even the most careful of culprits couldn't prevent such a coincidence.

"Then wait just a second." The man told them, reaching for his phone, searching the address book until he found what he was looking for. Once he did, he wrote it on a spare scrap of paper on the counter, passing it over towards Sera. "His name is Samuel Harris, he's an old friend of mine. If you mention my name, he should be willing to speak with you. But is something going on?"

"Something." Sera told him simply, flashing him a smile that warned him it would be better to not ask any more questions. Taking the scrap of paper and glancing at the phone number written on it, she tucked it into her pants. "Was there anything else that you can remember?"

"No." The man told them, shaking his head. "I'm afraid that I can't help ya'll any more than that."

Thanking the man for his help, Heiji and Sera quickly departed the shipping center. Sensing that they might be here for awhile, Heiji had gotten into contact with Mitsuta the previous night, right after finishing up his call with Conan, and had asked her if she knew anyone around here using the network willing to lend out a motorcycle- two, if at all possible. Thankfully, it turned out that there was. It certainly made getting around quite a bit easier.

Still, it was too damn hot, Heiji grumbled to himself casting a glance up towards the bright sun. There could at least be a cloud or two in the sky to reduce it's light a bit, but it seemed that the elements weren't going to cooperate with him today. No sooner than had they stepped outside, did he start to once again feel that annoying stinging sensation prickling against his skin.

Honestly, what a pain.

"Still, I don't see why we both needed ta come all the way out here." Heiji muttered, glancing over towards Sera as he scooped up the helmet that went along with his borrowed motorcycle. She really hadn't questioned the fact that he'd been able to obtain them so easily- at least, not out loud, she hadn't. "Just one of us would be fine."

It wasn't like he had any plans to enter any residences anyways, and Kazuha was more helpful with that sort of thing than Sera was, as had been quickly proven yesterday.

"I thought we might need to try the good cop, bad cop thing." Sera told him lightly, flashing him a quick grin as she tucked on her own helmet. "Well, it turns out I was wrong though. We're just lucky the person responsible for processing that package at the shipping center was so friendly, really."

Well, even if he hadn't been, Heiji had ways of making him talk- though they were admittedly ways he was hesitant to use with someone like Sera around. Kazuha had already told him about the conversation that she had with her last night- just as he thought, she had already picked up on any number of oddities. He didn't need to give her anything more for her to be suspicious about.

Having some kind of undefined illness was probably the best cover story for being a vampire, and for the moment, it was one that he would go along with. He'd be in a bit of trouble if she started pressing for specifics for some reason- but however curious she was, he sort of got the feeling that she wasn't that type of person. As long as she continued to believe that his abnormalities were the result of some kind of medical condition, she probably wouldn't press the topic any further.

Well, provide she actually _believed_ that.

"Ya almost sound like ya were lookin' forward ta that." Heiji couldn't help but observe, pulling his own helmet on, mounting his motorcycle. "How ya'd end up bein' a detective yerself anyways, Sera-han? It was because of my old man fer me, but what about you?"

"My older brother." Sera responded frankly, turning the ignition of her motorcycle on. "I mentioned him before, didn't I? He was the one who helped introduce me to Jeet Kune Do in the first place. The same is true for detective work."

"He sounds like quite the guy, this older brother of yers." Heiji noted, quirking a brow. "Well, we'd better head back. Maybe the analysts have those results in by now."

He had left Kazuha behind with Jodie that morning, to monitor what was going on with the FBI while he and Sera went to check out the shipping center that had processed the package in the first place. It was an hour's drive out of the city that they had been staying in, but it was probably better to go in person than to make a phone call. Although there was a chance that the murderer could already be looking for their next victim, there was no telling how much time that would take.

Challenge or no challenge, he doubted someone like the one behind all of this would rush themselves, and risk making a mistake because of that. Not after all of this time.

"You don't want to stop somewhere to get lunch on the way back?" Sera asked, sparing a glance over towards him. Sensitive stomach or not, it was starting to bother her that she had only actually seen Heiji eat all of once the entire time. Well, honestly, she wasn't sure why she had fixated on that point so much- nobody else seemed to find it all that odd, but once the thought was in her head, it wasn't like she could make it go away. "It's getting a bit around that time after all."

"Nah, I'm fine. I want ta get back ta Kazuha as soon as possible." Heiji said simply, not missing the reason why she was probably asking that question. He would have to try a bit better in that area- even if it was a serious pain in the ass. So much for being able to enjoy his favorite foods anymore- the world of okonomiyaki and takoyaki had been cut off to him forever. It was tragic, really.

"Oh, to your girlfriend?" Sera asked, unable to help but keep an amused note out of her voice. "You two must really be quite in love, if you're worried about her like this."

"Of course I'm worried about her!" Heiji almost huffed, starting up his motorcycle. "Anyways, let's stop chattin' already an' get on the road. I'm gettin' impatient, just sittin' around here! If this lead really does turn out ta be somethin', then it's the best one we've had since we found that notebook in the first place."

"Well, that's true." Sera said simply. "Hopefully nobody dies on us this time, though."

* * *

"We've got an address." Jodie reported, turning around to find herself face to face with two rather anticipating expressions. Letting out a slight sigh, she gave them both a small smile, tucking away her cellphone. "We've got a name of the recipient as well. I'll begin to make arrangements to head out there as soon as possible. Do the three of you want to come with me as well?"

"Of course!" Heiji said, nodding his head, a broad grin on his face. Well, there was a chance that it could still be a coincidence, though- but his instincts were telling him otherwise. "Who is the person that it was shipped ta in the first place?"

"Apparently he's an art dealer living in the city of Savannah, who goes by the name of Bradford Wise." Jodie told them. "I'll get some people looking into his history as soon as I can- hopefully they'll be able to turn something up. If he really is involved with this case, something might show up when we look into how his money's been traveling recently. Well, even if he is the patron, there's still a chance that he's unaware of what is involved in the creation of these paintings in the first place, though."

"From the looks of him, I'd say he's the type who knows entirely what he's doing." Sera remarked, glancing down at her phone. "He looks so much like the kind of guy who would buy murder paintings, I half want him arrested on grounds of looking so creepy in the first place."

"Does he really look that creepy?" Heiji asked, peering over at her phone, before grimacing. Ironically enough, the guy looked far more like one would envision a vampire to be than himself. "That's one hell of a look. Looks like kinda like a prick too."

"Oh, yer right." Kazuha observed, peeking over Sera and Heiji's shoulders alike to get a glimpse at the man in the picture. "According to this, he's originally from England. I wonder what he moved all the way to America fer?"

"Apparently according to this, he got into hot water in England for tax evasion. Probably moved here to avoid legal troubles." Sera noted. It was a bit of bother that he was from England, honestly- but she doubted it would be a problem. It wasn't like she had ever run into the guy, after all. "Looks like the type for that as well."

"He can't possibly look that- _oh_." Jodie began, finally taking a moment to check out the photograph that Sera had brought up herself, having to do a brief double take at it. "I take that back. He looks like he wouldn't be at all out of place in an adaptation of the Christmas Carol."

Briefly glancing over towards the trio of teenagers, Jodie took a moment to clear her throat, regaining her composure somewhat. "Well, even if he looks like that way, that doesn't mean he's necessarily guilty of anything. Looking like a stingy old man in and of itself is hardly a crime. Anyways, I'll make arrangements to get all of us out there. For now, why don't the three of you head back to the hotel and pack your bags?"

"We'll do that." Kazuha said, glancing over at Heiji. From the expression on his face, she could tell that he was getting a bit hungry in his own right- it was probably a good idea to get him some blood, especially if they were going to be hitting the road soon. Although he would have to find someone else to feed off of, if that was the case. It wasn't safe to continuously take blood from the same person day after day, after all. "Come on, Heiji, let's head back."

"Yeah, yer right, Kazuha." Nodding his head, Heiji glanced over at her, all but sensing what she was thinking about. Well, he'd probably be fine for a little bit longer, until night, at the very least- honestly, she worried too much sometimes. It wasn't like he was going to become bloodthirsty by abstaining from it for just a little bit. "Ya comin', Sera-han?"

"Just a second." Sera said, tucking her phone back away. Pausing to glance at the painting which hadn't been moved since it was unpacked, she frowned a little, eyes once more falling on the eerie figure depicted in it. The art analysts had been able to confirm that both the paint type and the style of the painting matched that of the previous painting, so there was no doubt it was the real thing.

All of this trouble for a painting- it was a bit hard to believe. Still, she wouldn't put it past some people. There were people like that in this world, after all, he would go to absurd lengths to do what it was that they wanted. Why on earth someone wanted to paint such a portrait in the first place was beyond her though- but she was only here to find the one behind the murders, not to understand what it was exactly that made them tick.

Falling into step behind the pair of Osakans again, Sera found herself once more glancing over at Kazuha's neck, still bandaged. When Jodie had asked about it at dinner last night, Kazuha had told herself that she had accidentally cut herself while scratching an itch, cracking a joke that it was a sign that it was about high time that she needed to cut her nails.

There was definitely something going on between those two, something _more_ than just Heiji having some kind of vaguely defined medical condition that she was watching out for. Well, now that they had gotten a lead on the case, it was the least of her worries- she didn't want to see this one vanish from in front of her eyes again, not like the last one had. Whatever secrets they were holding, discovering the truth could wait until this matter was solved.

Whatever their motives were for it, there wasn't a chance that she was going to allow them to keep killing like this, not when she was looking into the case. Maybe by solving it, she would find a bit of a connection with her older brother- if there was one regret that she had in life, it was the fact that she hadn't gotten to know him as well as she wished. Now that he was gone...

Well, that was if he was _really_ gone. It was her brother they were talking about- there was a chance that he was still alive.

"Sera-chan, ya comin'?" Kazuha's voice broke her out of her thoughts, and very quickly, she found a bright smile crossing her face, as she gave the girl a firm nod of her head.

"Yeah, I'm coming. I was just thinking about something."

* * *

"Are ya sure you didn't need a bite ta eat before we left?"

He could make out the uncertainty in Kazuha's voice loud and clear even over the roar of the motorcycle engine, and the noise of the cars around them. They had probably left Jodie's car behind somewhere, and Sera had already darted ahead of them somewhere, but it would be fine- they knew how to get to where they were going, and arrangements at a hotel had already been made. They would wait for everyone to show up before they headed out to make some inquires of Bradford Wise, to see if he really did have any relation to the case or not.

If he did, and he wasn't forthcoming about it, there was a chance that Heiji might try and pay him a visit later tonight by himself- that is, if the guy let him inside his house in the first place. He'd rather not have to bring Kazuha with him to do such a thing.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Heiji nodded his head. He'd rigged their helmets before they left to make sure that he wasn't the only one of them who could hear the other- there was a microphone in his own helmet, and receiver for it in Kazuha's. Of course, there was no need for something like that in reverse- even if it did give him a headache at times, super hearing had it's perks. "Honestly, just because I'm a vampire doesn't mean I'm cravin' blood all the time. I thought ya knew that already, Kazuha."

"I'm just concerned." Kazuha said with a slight frown. "You've been out in the sun a lot lightly, and that's not good fer ya, Heiji. Sometimes ya push yerself way too hard. As your childhood friend, I'm naturally worried about ya. Besides, we don't know what we're going to find when we get there, and I can't give you any of my blood fer awhile either, not enough to really tide you over, at least."

"Like I said, it'll be fine. I'm not in such a bad state just because of a bit of sun. I am a bit hungry, but it's nothin' that I can't endure." Heiji told her, sparing a brief glance back towards her, before fixing his attention on the road once more. Just because he wouldn't die if he crashed into something didn't give him an excuse to not try and be a safe driver. "It's not like my eatin' habits changed after that."

Knowing what he was speaking of, Kazuha nodded her head, wrapping her arms tighter around his waist. He was as cold as ever, but in the heat of the day, he was quite nice, actually. Come winter, she would probably feel exactly the opposite, though. "Then, it's fine. But just be careful Heiji. Like I said, we don't know what's gonna happen from here on out, so it's best fer ya ta be careful."

"I know, I know." Heaving a sigh, Heiji tried to fight the warm feeling that bubbled up in his chest as Kazuha wrapped her arms tighter around him. They would have to take a quick break in a bit, he didn't want her arms to get tired, and she probably needed something to eat herself. For all that she was fussing about his own needs, he was pretty sure that she had all but forgotten about her own. That was the sort of person she was, after all. "Don't worry, Kazuha. I won't let anythin' bad happen ta me. No matter what we're up against, be it a human or some kinda witch, I won't lose."

He wouldn't let anyone else get hurt either- even if that meant exposing himself. If they really were dealing with something that was less than human, or even a human with the ability to use magic, then as a somewhat reluctant member of that world, it was his responsibility to make sure that no humans got hurt. Not anymore than they already had, that was.

He had contacted his father after he had called Mitsuta, and had asked him to try and get a chance to speak with Karen one more time about the case. He got the vague feeling that she knew more about it than she was willing to let on. Was there another reason why she had sent him out here in the first place, other than a feeling of responsibility for her murdered apprentice? More than anything, it was important to find that much out. He didn't think that she had a particularly sinister ulterior motive, not this time around, but... well, she was a vampire hunter, after all, as interested as she was in him, it was best that he didn't let himself forget that.

She had, after all, tried to kill him once already. And as much as she claimed that she was a woman of her word, that could just as easily be a lie.

"It sometimes feels like you're entering a different world than me, Heiji." Kazuha couldn't help but note, grateful that he couldn't see her expression right now. She didn't want him to see this kind of lonely expression on her face, after all- there was definitely pain in their future, but she wanted to enjoy the now that they had while it lasted. She would worry about the future in the future, and not before then.

At least, she tried to keep telling herself that.

"Just a bit." Heiji said after a moment, not needing to look back to know what kind of expression she wore on her face. They'd grown up together, after all- he already knew that much. "But that doesn't mean I'm gonna leave ya behind, Kazuha. It's not like I can turn a blind eye ta the things happenin' right in front of me though, not that this whole other world has opened up ta me. It's not in my nature."

"I know that much." Kazuha said, a hint of fondness clear as day in her voice. That was the sort of thing that she loved about him, in the end. Even if it caused her trouble sometimes. Without that trait of his, he would probably still be human. "Maybe I should take up Takako-chan's offer ta learn magic after all."

"A proper spell caster, huh?" Heiji grinned, easily imagining something like that. "I'd kind of like ta see that myself. She did say that ya might have talent fer it, after all. Ya should give it a try!"

"Maybe I'd learn a spell that keeps us from runnin' into murders wherever we go." Kazuha joked, unable to help but crack a smile herself now as well. "Conan-kun and Ran-chan could use somethin' like that as well, come to think of it."

" _Especially_ that kid." Heiji noted. "Though I'm not sure if even magic could help ya there."

"Ya wouldn't know until ya tried!" Kazuha almost huffed. "Besides, even if he _does_ want to be a detective one day, I worry about Conan-kun seein' all those corpses all the time! An' you just drag him off like it's nothin' every time one happens when we're with him. He's just a _child_ ya know, Heiji."

"Well, it's fine." Suddenly realizing that they were straying into a bit of a dangerous territory here, Heiji let out a slight laugh. And of course, he was the one who had carelessly sent them in this direction in the first place... wasn't there something else he could change the topic to? "By the way, Kazuha, have ya told yer parents about me yet?"

"No." Kazuha said, shaking her head. "It's a bit hard to bring somethin' like this up. My mother is one thing, but my father..." Trailing off a little, she frowned, trying to imagine how such a thing would go. "Well, I guess I'll need ta tell them at some point. It would put us in some sticky situations in the future otherwise."

"Well, if it helps, yer old man seems ta have picked up on somethin' about me." Heiji noted, recalling the last time he had a chance to speak with Kazuha's father. It had been right before they had headed back to Beika to drag Conan and the others to the beach- he'd spoken with him to make sure everything was alright. "Well, my old man hasn't told him anythin' either. I guess Otaki-han knows now though, although we haven't really had a chance ta really talk about it yet. Well, in it's own way, I guess that's good as well."

"Ah, now that ya mention it, I noticed the way he's treats you has changed a little." Kazuha recalled, briefly dwelling on the scarred police inspector. "Like, he's more sensitive, I guess? I think he feels bad about the whole bein' dead thing."

"Well, it was like that fer awhile, but things are mostly gettin' back ta normal, really." Heiji said. That had been a bit difficult to deal with in it's own right- he got the impression that Otaki had the idea that he was a lot more sensitive to sunlight than he actually was. Thankfully, he hadn't made much of a fuss overall, though. Whatever he might, nothing would change the fact that he was that reliable high school detective who helped him out on cases more often than not- that was what was really important between them.

He was a good guy.

"Are things still tense between you and your father?" Kazuha asked.

"They've gotten a bit better." Heiji told her. "Although he lectured me nonstop when I got back home from that case with that bastard who turned me in the first place. Well, I already expected somethin' like that ta happen, though. Mom did too. I guess they were both worried about me. It's a little weird, seein' as I'm _already_ dead."

Although he finished his sentence with a rather awkward sounding laugh, it didn't do a very good job at concealing his own complicated feelings towards the matter. Closing her eyes and letting out a breath, Kazuha decided that it was best that she didn't press him about it- that was something that he ultimately needed to come to terms with and deal with himself. She couldn't do anything for him there, as much as it pained her.

Best to change the topic.

"Ah, can we get off at this exit up here, Heiji? I kinda need ta get a bite ta eat myself, now that I think about it." Kazuha asked, glancing over at a passing road sign, squinting at it a little. She was pretty sure that was the sign indicating the food options at the upcoming exit, although wasn't nearly as good as her ability to speak it.

"Sure thing." Heiji said, nodding his head, carefully switching lanes. "I was wonderin' when ya'd remember yer own stomach. It's only been growlin' nonstop since we left!"

With bright red cheeks, Kazuha pulled one of her hands from around his waist, smacking him on the back. "It has not, _idiot_!"

* * *

"The three of you young ladies may come in, but _that_ ," Somehow, the man's almost ghoulish appearance all but seemed to add an entirely different level to the disdain that was already crystal clear on his voice, as he leveled his gaze on Heiji. "...must remain outside."

"Oi, what's that supposed ta mean!?" Heiji demanded, glowering up at what had turned out to be a rather astonishingly tall man. It wasn't all that often that he got to meet someone that made the likes of his father and Otaki seem small in comparison. Planting his hands on his hips, he narrowed his eyes sharply, not taking this kind of treatment sitting down. "There somethin' wrong with me?"

 _Rather, way ta make it_ _ **completely obvious**_ _that ya know I'm a vampire, old man_ , Heiji thought to himself, sending a silent challenge in his look to dare him to say anything along those lines, and see what happened. At least, there was no other reason that he could think of for such a firm, disdainful reaction. That only added to the crawling suspicion that this guy definitely had something to do with the murders- at the very least, that he was the type who would _want_ a damn painting like that in the first place.

"Hey now, Heiji." Kazuha whispered, linking her arm with his own, trying to get him to calm down a bit. It wouldn't do if he made a scene here. "Calm down."

"That _is_ a bit rude." Sera mused, glancing up at the one known as Bradford Wise. Frankly, she was just surprised that he had come to the door to see who the visitors claiming that they were from the FBI were personally- didn't rich people usually have their servants just escort them into their parlors or something? It would seem that he didn't just _look_ like an unusual man.

"He stays outside, otherwise I will not speak to any of you." Bradford told them sharply, never once dropping his gaze from Heiji- but never once voicing what he was certain was just on the tip of his tongue. His gaze dropping towards Kazuha's linked arm, his eyes slightly narrowed. "For that matter, the young lady with the ponytail, you can remain outside yourself."

"Hey-!" Opening up her mouth to protest, Kazuha found herself cut off by Jodie, who put a finger to her lips, shaking her head. It wouldn't do if they made a fuss here, and ended up being unable to speak with him after all, as incredibly rude as he was being.

"Very well. Hattori-kun, Toyama-san, it would be best if the two of you did as he said, and remained outside for now. We'll be out again shortly." Jodie reassured them with a kind smile. Turning back towards Bradford, she turned a far more business-like smile towards him, silently wondering exactly what his deal was, even as she switched over to English. "Now then, Mr. Wise, we have a few questions we'd like to ask you about a certain package that was delivered to you recently."

Eyes narrowing further at the mention of a package, Bradford nevertheless returned the cold, business-like smile. "Very well, Miss Starling. Please, you and your companion can come this way." Stepping aside to allow them inside of his manor, Jodie and Sera each paused to glance back at the Osakan pair, before they followed the man inside. He shut the door sharply behind them, preventing anyone from following them. "Though I must admit, I am not certain what it is that the FBI could want from me. I assure you, Miss Starling, I've done nothing wrong."

"I must say, you keep some _unusual_ company though." The man observed as he turned around on his heel, his gaze lingering back towards the door for a moment longer. "Is the FBI getting into that sort of thing these days?"

"That sort of thing?" Jodie asked, blinking a little. "I can assure you, Mr. Wise, Heiji is quite a skilled detective in his own right, in spite of his young age."

"A detective?" Bradford observed, raising his brows, before letting out a dismissive snort. "I suppose they'll let just about _anyone_ work as a detective these days then, I take it. Well, it's not business of mine who you keep company with, Miss Starling. Now, this way, if you please."

"He's worse than I could have _ever_ imagined." Sera muttered underneath her breath, just low enough to be sure that he wouldn't hear her. Jodie however, clearly caught what she had said, and shot her a look, warning her to be on her best behavior- probably nothing could would come from upsetting that sort of person.

"Please, take a seat." Bradford spoke up again, indicating to a couch within the parlor that he had lead the both of them to. "Now then, Miss Starling, you mentioned something about a package, did you not? I receive quite a few packages every week, seeing as I am an art dealer. You're going to have to be a bit more _specific_."

"The package in question would have contained a certain painting." Jodie told him, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the photograph that she had taken before she left, sliding it across the coffee table towards him. "Do you recognize this painting, Mr. Wise?"

Carefully taking the photograph from her, briefly considering it, the older man shook his head after a moment, passing it back to her. "No, I do not. It's painted quite skillfully, however. Might I inquire as to who the artist is?"

"I'm afraid that's what we're trying to find out." Jodie told him simply, taking the photograph back from him and tucking it away. He hadn't betrayed anything on his face when he had seen it- but that didn't actually mean anything when it came down to it. She got the impression that this man was quite skilled at schooling his expressions. She doubted he would give away any obvious signs. "I don't suppose you're at all familiar with this kind of subject matter, or this style of painting?"

"No, I'm afraid not." Bradford told her, shaking his head. "What is it that the FBI could have need for from an artist, though?"

"I'm afraid I can't quite answer that." Jodie told him, a tight smile on her face. "Do you perhaps know of anyone who would?"

"Not off the top of my head." Bradford told her, shaking his head. "Our city might have a long history of ghost stories and the like, but I'm afraid that I don't deal with those who have an interest in art reflecting such history. Not at the moment, at any rate."

"I see." Jodie said after a moment. "Then, I believe you received quite the large package the other day from a delivery company called On the Go Deliveries. The size would have been about..." glancing back towards where the entered the room for a second, Jodie quickly turned her attention back towards him. "...yes, just slightly less high than your door frame over there."

"I do have memory of such a package." Bradford acknowledged, nodding his head. "And it did indeed contain a painting. However I can assure you, it's not the painting that you showed me, if that is what you're meaning to ask me."

"Then, what kind of painting was it?" Sera spoke up, carefully studying the man's features. He really wasn't the type to give anything away- what a bothersome sort of fellow. And exactly what had been his deal with Heiji earlier, anyways? Well granted, they _were_ in the South, but somehow she didn't think that was quite it.

"A painting for one of my clients here in the city. It's already been sent off to their private gallery, as of this morning." He told them. "I can give you the address if you would like to confirm that much with them."

"Yes, we'd appreciate it." Jodie told him, sensing that this was the most that they were going to get out of this man. Her investigation into him wouldn't end here, however- just because he wasn't being forthcoming, didn't mean that he didn't know something. Rather, she got the distinct feeling that he did.

Call it instinct.

"But of course." Reaching over towards a pad of paper that had been left out, he quickly scribbled down an address, before tearing the sheet off and passing it over towards her. "Now then, I'm sorry that I can't be of more use to the both of you. Unless there's anything else that you might need to ask me?"

"No, I don't think there's anything else." Jodie told him, taking the scrap of paper from him, giving it a quick look over before she tucked it away. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Wise. Please, if you can think of anything else, here's my number." Pulling out a business card from within her pocket and handing it over to him, Jodie rose to her feet.

"I'll be certain to, Miss Starling." Bradford promised her, taking the card from her. "I hope that you're able to find what it is that you're looking for. Although..." he trailed off for a moment, a note of purely artificial hesitation in his voice. "...I would be a bit more careful about who it is that you choose to let close to you, if I were you."

"I'll be certain to keep that in mind." Jodie told him, keeping a tight smile plastered on her face. "Well then, I believe Sera-san and I know our way out, so we'll show ourselves to the door."

It wasn't until they were outside of the manor that Jodie found herself breathing easily again- and no sooner than they had come out, did Heiji spring to his feet from where he had been leaning against the stairway railing, clear interest written onto his expression.

"So? Did ya learn anythin'?" Heiji asked. Strain his ears though he might, there was no way that he could hear inside the house. Judging from the expression on Jodie's face, however, he was going to guess that she hadn't been able to learn all that much from him. "I'm guessin' not, then."

"That would be correct." Jodie told him, a slight frown crossing her features as she briefly locked eyes with the Osakan detective. She hadn't missed the implications contained within the man's parting words- she had very little doubt that they were supposed to be in regards to _Heiji_.

Why that would be, she had no idea. Perhaps he just didn't the like the look of him.

"We should probably have this conversation somewhere else, however. For the time being, let's return to the car. There's one more address that I want to check out."


	8. Little Bat, Why is Your Blood So Red?

**AN** : Oh hey, here's chapter eight! Some pretty exciting things happen in this chapter, if I do say so myself! As always, thanks to everyone who reads this story, and especially those of you who take the time to to leave a review- that's what keeps me going!

Until next time!

* * *

 **Bloodsport**

 **Chapter Eight**

 **Little Bat, Little Bat, Why is Your Blood so Red?**

* * *

"So, did his story check out?"

"At the very least, he was telling the truth about receiving a package for one of his clients." Jodie noted, glancing back at the art gallery that she had just left, a tight frown on her face. "Just as he said, this gallery received a rather large painting from him early this afternoon, and are already setting it up for display. Naturally, it's not the one that we're looking for."

"Well, that doesn't mean he's quite off the hook, though." Sera noted. "I got the impression from him that he was _definitely_ hiding something. It's not impossible that he might have had their painting prepared ahead of time, as a cover in case he needed it." The strange manner in which he had treated Heiji had caught her attention as well, but somehow, she got the feeling that it had nothing to do with the case at hand.

"I got that feeling as well. As for the painting, you're certainly right. I'll have to look into what kind of packages he's received lately a bit more closely." Jodie said, nodding her head. "At the very least, we should observe his actions for awhile and see if he might lead us to any further clues. I'm not ready to rule out his involvement in the case just yet."

"Still, what an unpleasant old man." Kazuha said, her eyes narrowing sharply as she recalled the way that he had treated Heiji. They had both discussed it with the other when they'd been left behind, but there was no doubt in either of their minds that the man _definitely_ must have had some idea that Heiji was a vampire. "Right, Heiji?"

"Tell me about it." Heaving a long sigh, making a show of doing so, Heiji rubbed the back of his neck, a rather disgruntled expression setting itself on his face. Of all the people to run into on a case like this, it _had_ to be someone who could tell that he wasn't human. Still, it was that fact alone that lead him to believe that he might have a bit more involvement in this case than he was willing to let on. Given the strange feeling of being watched that he'd gotten outside of the sixth victim's apartment, and the strange matter of the concurrent three deaths, as well as the fact that the sixth painting had been addressed to him- if anything about him had gained the culprit's eye, it was probably that fact. "Well, I've dealt with his type before, so it's not like it's anythin' new."

"I already have a few of my associates investigating his recent actions, including the recent flow of his money." Jodie told them. "If they come up with anything suspicious, they'll let me know. It would be for the best if they could come up with something that would grant us a warrant to search his home, but unless that happens, there's not much that we can do."

Noticing the way that the Osakan pair seemed to exchange a glance between them at her words, Jodie pursed her lips together. "And of course, if we do anything reckless like try and force the truth out of him, such a thing might backfire on us." She added shortly, turning something of a sharp gaze towards Heiji. She had heard of it, after all- the high school detective of the west's reputation as being rather hotblooded and reckless, for acting on impulse. It was best to get whatever he was thinking about in check before he decided to actually act on it.

"For now, we should head back to the hotel, so I can get back in contact with headquarters again. Something might have come up on their end, and I'm concerned about leaving Caroline alone." Jodie noted. "It's possible that whoever is responsible for Madeline Craven's death might decide to come after her next."

"Not ta mention whoever is responsible fer the death of Amelia-han's other three students." Heiji remarked, narrowing his eyes. Jodie and Sera alike had expressed their belief that there was probably more than one culprit involved in that matter, but Heiji couldn't shake the feeling that there was probably only one person behind all of those murders. Maybe Kazuha's witchcraft theory had some weight to it after all.

"I suppose that's true." Jodie said simply, nodding her head. "Anyways, we should be careful. Especially _you_ , Hattori-kun, since the culprit has seemed to take some kind of interest in you."

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me." Flashing her a quick grin, Heiji brushed aside her worries. "I'm pretty strong, after all, ya know?"

"Even though you have an illness?" Sera couldn't help but ask, briefly locking eyes for him with a moment. Judging from the way that he flinched, it would appear that he hadn't been expecting the question. "Well, I suppose you would know your own body the best, Hattori-kun."

"Eh? Hattori-kun, are you ill?" Blinking in alarm, Jodie glanced between the pair of high school detectives, wondering for a moment if there was something going on between them. Her gaze finally settling back towards Heiji, a look of concern crossing her face. "You did mention earlier that you have a mild sun allergy- is this related to that?"

"Y-yeah, ya could say that." Heiji said quickly, nodding his head, resisting the urge to shoot a glare over towards Sera for bringing it up. Still, he _was_ the one who had decided to go along with the 'vague, undefined illness' excuse for any of the more noticeable vampiric traits that he now possessed. "It's really not a big deal though, Jodie-han. Nothin' that ya need ta worry about. I wouldn't have come out all this way if it was really that serious. Like Sera-han said, I do know my body best."

"That's right!" Kazuha chimed in, linking her arm with Heiji's, leaning in a bit closer to him. "Heiji's really fine, Jodie-sensei. It's not like he's so sick that he's suddenly goin' ta keel over an' die or anythin' like that. He just has a few _unusual_ allergies, that's all."

Well, that was _one way_ of putting it.

"Well, if you say so, Hattori-kun." Jodie said finally, giving him a nod of her head. She had never heard anything of this from Ran, who was the one who mostly spoke of the friends that she and Conan shared between them- but perhaps she simply didn't know. "Ah, but now that I think about it, you've been out in the sun an awful lot today- are you alright, Hattori-kun? In that case, we really _should_ head back to the hotel and rest for a little bit."

"Ah, no-" Heiji began, only to be cut off by a light jab to his side from Kazuha, leveling a rather stern gaze on him, silently telling him that Jodie had a point. Finally heaving a defeated sigh, Heiji gave her something of a sheepish grin. Now that she mentioned it, the sunlight was starting to get to him more than just a little- maybe it would be for the best if he ducked inside for a bit. "That might be fer the best, actually. I'll be back up on my feet like normal before ya know it, though."

"Then, in that case, we shouldn't waste any more time standing around here, should we?" Sera asked, already opening up the door to Jodie's car, grinning from ear to ear as she motioned for Heiji to go ahead and take a seat in it. The dirty look that he shot her was frankly, more than worth it. So he had a mild sun allergy, _hm_ \- she couldn't help but file away this information with all of the other odd traits that she had noticed about him.

A supposedly sensitive stomach. An abnormally low body temperature, and an abnormally slow pulse. A sun allergy, however mild. For some reason, she found herself including the strange matter from back at Madeline Craven's apartment, and the matter from just earlier, outside of Bradford Wise's apartment. Not to mention the two strange scars on Kazuha's neck... she couldn't shake the feeling that they were all related.

She just wasn't quite certain _how_. Certainly, there was something in the back of her mind that was pulling at her, but as of yet, she didn't quite know what it was. Well, whatever the case, whatever secrets the two Osakans were keeping, it wasn't as pressing as the matter at hand- if that man really was involved with the murders somehow, then they had mostly likely now drawn more attention to themselves than they already had.

If the culprit had been watching them, from where had they been doing so? She certainly hadn't sensed anything like that- although... pursing her lips in thought as she took the front passenger seat of Jodie car, she spared a quick glance back towards Heiji, recalling his odd behavior just outside of the house of the sixth victim, as they were leaving. For a moment, it seemed as if he had been distracted by something- but surely, if he had noticed someone watching them, he would have told them, wouldn't he?

Unless somehow, that too, tied into whatever secret he was keeping. There was definitely something going on behind the scenes here, of that much she was almost certain of at this point.

"Can ya tell us about the fourth murder again, Jodie-han?" Heiji asked suddenly, deciding to fill the silence in the car. He'd caught Sera looking back at him, and didn't like the expression carried within her eyes, so pulling her away from whatever it was she was thinking about was probably for the best.

"Amelia Hayden's murder?" Jodie asked, briefly sparing a glance back towards him, but otherwise paying attention to the road. With all the one way streets, roundabouts, and horse drawn carriages, it could rather frustrating to make one's way around in this city. "Sure, I don't have a problem with that. Haven't you already read about it in depth yourself though, Hattori-kun?"

"I did. I just want ta hear a bit more about it from someone who was more directly involved." Heiji said simply. He still got the feeling that there was something in that murder that was key- the last murder that had occurred before the eight year gap between the fourth and fifth murder.

"That's fine." Nodding her head, Jodie quickly dug up the details of the murder from her memory. "Amelia Hayden went missing while we were investigating her. At first, we took this as a sign of her being guilty, and that she had tried to run. However, three days later, her body was discovered in the ballroom of an abandoned hotel that was slated for demolition. When the demolition workers went through it for a final check to make sure that there wasn't anyone in the building, they found her corpse."

"That painting was called The Last Dance of the Devil, right?" Sera inquired, peering over towards her.

"That's right." Jodie told her, gaze briefly flickering in her direction. "Given the condition of the body when it was found, she had been dead for a little under three days. She was suspended from the ceiling by wires, and locked into a waltzing pose. The ultimate cause of death was strangulation, though. She was probably already dead before she was dressed up and posed, so suicide would have naturally been impossible. Her daughter identified the body, and her DNA matched with that found in the hairs from her hairbrush, so there's no doubt that it was her."

"Naturally, we asked around to see if anyone had seen anybody coming and going from the abandoned hotel, but unfortunately, nobody had." Jodie said, shaking her head. Briefly sparing another glance down towards her GPS, she made the turn onto the street she'd need to take back to the hotel. "We even tried to track down where the dress the corpse was found wearing came from, but to no luck. Apparently it was sewn by hand."

"Her daughter allowed us to search their home after her mother's death, in the event that it might turn up any leads, but we didn't find anything there either." Jodie told them, a deep frown crossing her face. She couldn't help but recall that Shu hadn't seemed quite satisfied by that- but she had never been able to ask him for more detail before they were both finally transferred to where they wanted to be- to the investigation of the Organization. After that, she had more or less largely forgotten the serial murder case, having been too focused on her current investigation to do any further digging into it.

"Do ya still have the address fer their house?" Heiji asked, a sudden idea sparking in his head. Maybe if he took a look at it for himself, he might be able to find something that they had missed. If there really was something supernatural involved with this case, he probably had a higher chance of finding it than a group of normal, if not highly skilled, humans. "I'm guessin' the hotel where the fourth corpse was found was eventually torn down."

"It was." Jodie told him, pulling into the parking lot of their hotel. "We examined it top to bottom, but found no clues. It was torn down around two months later. As for the Hayden family home, I do still have the address. I don't think anyone lives there anymore, as her daughter moved away after the murder, but I don't believe Caroline sold it either. I could give it to you if you wanted, but what are you going to do with it, Hattori-kun?"

"Ah, well, I thought I might check it out for myself." Heiji confessed, scratching his cheek. "That's not a problem, is it?"

"No, it shouldn't be a problem." Jodie told him, shaking her head as she pulled into a parking space. Reaching into the storage compartment by the driver's seat, she pulled out a pen and paper, quickly jotting it down, before passing it back to him. "How do you plan on getting there though?"

"Heiji's got some friends who live here who could help him." Kazuha interjected, cutting him off before he could let anything more slip than he should. No doubt he was planning on contacting Mitsuta to ask her if there was anyone in the network here who owned a helicopter or something, and was willing to lend them a hand. "He's probably thinkin' of given them a call, right, Heiji?"

"Yeah, that's right." Shooting Kazuha a slightly dirty look, muttering that he could have said that much just fine by _himself_ , Heiji nevertheless flashed Jodie a broad smile, taking the paper from her. "Thank ya, Jodie-han. This helps me a bunch."

"Can I go with you too, Hattori-kun?" Sera inquired, a pleasant smile crossing her own face, even as she locked eyes with him, a silent challenge almost seeming to be written in them. "After all, if our culprit really does have an interest in you, it'll be safer if you don't go alone, right?"

Grumbling a little, Heiji forced his smile to stay on his face, wondering what it was that he was going to have to do to get Sera off of his back already. She was definitely still curious about him, just as he thought she would be- the excuse that he had some kind of mysterious illness obviously wasn't entirely doing it for her. "Yeah, there's no problem with that, Sera-han! Ya know what they say, the more the merrier."

"Well, do let me know before you go, you two." Jodie told them, glancing between the both of them, almost vaguely getting the feeling that if this went any further, she might be mediating a fight. Opening the door to her car, she stepped out, watching as the other three occupants of it did very much the same. "Like Sera-san mentioned, it's probably for the best that you don't make any moves without telling people where you're going first. _Especially_ you, Hattori-kun, since it seems our culprit has an interest in you."

"Ya said that already. 'Sides, I'm not sure addressin' a painting ta me is showin' interest. Probably just tauntin' me." Shoving his hands into his pockets, Heiji fought the urge to tug his cap further down over his brow, knowing that he would be out of the blazing sun in less than a minute. Seriously though, they didn't need to worry about him so much- he was _more_ than capable of handling himself- it wasn't as if he could die that easily anymore. He wouldn't be having so much of a problem now if that were still true.

"As long as it's a possibility, it's prudent to be cautious." Jodie said simply, unable to keep herself from lecturing him as if he were one of the students that she had taught briefly. She had heard that he could be somewhat reckless- mostly from Ran, who mentioned him from time to time, but sometimes she couldn't shake the feeling that he had far too little regard for his own well being.

It was worrisome, to say the least.

"Fine, fine." Grumbling to himself, Heiji only spared Kazuha a glance as she patted him lightly on the shoulder, an almost teasing expression on her face at the short lecture he had earned himself. There was worry in her gaze too though- and that was more than enough to make him shut up on the matter. The last thing he wanted to do was give Kazuha more cause to worry about him.

As they stepped into the hotel, Heiji felt himself letting out a long breath of relief, feeling the faint tingling sensation on his skin giving way. His relief was short lived, however, as he quickly caught a scent that had cause to be all too familiar to him- and frowned, his brows furrowing together deeply as he glanced around the hotel lobby, trying to pin where such a thing might be coming from. There was something else beyond that scent though, something far more unpleasant- though it didn't seem as if anyone else had noticed it yet. What the hell was that?

It almost smelled rotten.

There was something else though too- something which gradually became more and more powerful, the more he became aware of it. It almost smelled like something he was rather familiar with as well- what was that? Different from the other two scents, it's aroma was almost strangely pleasant- in a way that made him almost light on his feet.

"Ah, are you perhaps the guests staying in rooms 303 through 305?" With a look of abject relief on her face, the receptionist called out to them, all but flagging them over to the desk.

"Yes, we are. Why, is something wrong?" Jodie asked, turning to face the somewhat frazzled looking receptionist, quickly noticing that she didn't seem to be alone behind the counter. Rather, it seemed as if there had been a small gathering of hotel employees behind the counter, all of whom were puzzling over something- and the closer she came to the front desk, the more powerful the smell of whatever it was that they were looking at became.

"While you were out, one of your rooms received a package." The receptionist stated plainly, fighting the urge to put a handkerchief over her mouth, her nose crinkling up from the odor. "Forgive us, but we noticed a strange odor coming from it, and it appeared to be, ah, _leaking_ a bit. It troubled us, especially given that you only just checked in, and that there was no return address on the package, so we opened it up. As we feared, there was something strange inside- we were just about to call the police, in fact."

"And? What did this package contain?" Jodie asked, half wanting to fish out her own handkerchief now, and noticing that Kazuha already had- Sera was clearly considering it. Heiji, it seemed, hovered just beyond them, and yet he looked far more effected by the smell than anyone closer to it- almost light on his feet, really. A concerned Kazuha was already moving to be by his side, linking her arm with his, placing a hand against his back to support him.

"Well..." Trailing off a little, the receptionist glanced back to her coworkers, who exchanged a nod with her. Dropping her voice, she leaned over the counter, making sure that only she could hear here. "It's a bat, miss. A dead bat."

As one of her fellow coworkers, equipped with thick gloves and a pair of thick towels underneath the package to catch the red, leaking liquid, brought the item in question into view, Jodie found herself almost recoiling from the scent of rotted flesh alone. The bat had probably already been dead for at least half a day, the heat of the day making it smell even worse than it normally would. Just faintly, through the smell of it's rotting flesh, she could barely make out the aroma of roses, crushed petals of which seemed to line the bottom of the box.

A dead bat, killed by what appeared to be a stake driven through it, at that. There was more blood in the box than just belonged to the bat itself, far fresher than the rest- and that in itself was rather worrying. Hopefully it would just turn out to be more animal blood, but they would have to analyze it right away to make sure.

Slowly turning back towards the receptionist, Jodie narrowed her eyes, dropping her voice. Faintly, in the background, she could make out the sounds of a small commotion, but didn't yet draw her attention away from the receptionist. "Forgive me, but exactly _which_ room was the package addressed to?"

"Room 304, I believe." The woman told her, letting out a breath as her coworker moved the package away, and after a brief discussion with their manager, decided to bring the entire thing out back before it could stink up the rest of the lobby.

Now she really _could_ make out the sound of Heiji swearing underneath his breath- because that, she knew, was the room that he shared with Kazuha. As Jodie turned on her heel to face him, she did so just in time to watch him wavering on his feet, watching as his childhood friend called out to him, just as he seemed to black out.

" _Heiji_!"

* * *

Blue eyes snapped open, as their owner suddenly recalled what had happened all at once. Jolting upright in what he quickly established was a bed, he quickly glanced around the room, trying to place where he was, and what the situation was around him. Were such a thing still possible, his heart would have no doubt been hammering out of his chest, filled with anxious thoughts as his memories up until the moment that he collapsed flooded back to him.

At the very least, he wasn't chained up this time- his memories of the _last_ time he had blacked out like this were still too raw within him. Since he had been properly moved to what appeared to be the hotel room that he was sharing with Kazuha, at the very least, he probably hadn't tried to hurt anyone this time- and it was only at that realization that he allowed himself to let out a long breath, more of an act of relief than of any kind of necessity.

As the door opened, however, Heiji's eyes jolted towards it, once more feeling a sense of relief pass through him when he realized that the person coming through was Kazuha. His shoulders slumping, he managed to let a grin surface on his face, watching as a look of relief washed over her own upon seeing him awake.

And still himself, doubtlessly.

"Heiji!" Hurrying over to his bedside, Kazuha wrapped her arms around him, drawing him tight in an almost bone crushing embrace. At the vague sound of compliant that he let out, she somewhat relaxed her grip on him, pulling away from her otherwise tight embrace. "Thank god. I was so worried about ya, _idiot_! Ya just passed out all of a sudden!"

"Sorry, Kazuha." Giving her an apologetic smile, Heiji let a small laugh escape him. "I probably caused ya a lot of trouble, didn't I? Fer some reason, I just suddenly got overwhelmed by somethin', an' before I knew it, I was driftin' off like that. Don't really know what happened."

"It was the roses." Kazuha told him, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to him. "I called Mitsuta-san after ya collapsed, an' told her everythin'. She says it was the rose petals in the box that did it. Apparently it's not just that weird flower that vampires are sensitive to. She said somethin' about roses having the effect of some kind of sleepin' drug. I don't know what they were plannin' on though, sendin' ya somethin' like that."

The message, at the very least, she got loud and clear. A bat with a stake through it could only mean one thing- well, two things, really. That the culprit definitely knew what Heiji was- and that they wanted him _far away_ from this case. She had half a mind to tell him as much herself, but she knew that he would never listen to her. Not after he had gotten this involved.

"Well, in that case, it's probably fer the best that I'm not the type ta give out flowers in the first place." Heiji couldn't help but joke, letting out a slight yelp as Kazuha glowered at him, giving him a sharp pinch to his arm, telling him that this wasn't the time for making such jokes. "Well, at the very least, I didn't end up becomin' some kind of monster this time. What happened after that, Kazuha? Judgin' from the fact that Jodie-han an' Sera-han aren't loomin' over me with weird looks on their face, an' that I'm not in a hospital morgue somewhere..."

"Somehow or another, I managed ta convince them." Kazuha told him, giving him something of a strained smile. "I told them that every so often, this sort of thing happens ta ya. Sera-chan at least seemed a bit skeptical, an' Jodie-sensei... well," trailing off a little there, she averted her eyes briefly from him. "...it sounds like she has half a mind ta send ya home, Heiji."

"I ain't goin' home. Not after gettin' something like _that_." Heiji told her rather firmly, watching as she let out a long sigh. Running a hand through his hair, he paused to run his tongue over his teeth, grumbling a little as he realized his fangs were still out. With a bit of willpower, he shrank them back down to their usual size. "They didn't see the...?"

"Yer fangs?" Kazuha asked, shaking her head. "No, I didn't let 'em get anywhere near ya. If they found out that ya didn't have a heartbeat... well, it would probably end up like ya said, Heiji. Yer just lucky I could haul ya up here by myself. I had ta princess carry ya, ya know."

"Well, thank ya ever so much then, my prince~." Flashing her a broad grin as he lightly teased her, partly to cover his own embarrassment, Heiji swung his feet out of the bed. Catching the way she half seemed to want to fuss over him out of the corner of his eye, he reached down, patting her on the head. "I feel fine now, Kazuha. A little hungry, but fine."

"Jodie-sensei sent the box and the bat in to be analyzed." Kazuha told him. "She's afraid that the extra blood in the box was possibly human. We haven't gotten any results back yet though. Are ya gonna be alright, Heiji? If it's just a quick snack, I can still give ya a bit more blood, ya know."

Half wanting to turn down her offer, Heiji rubbed the back of his head, considering it for a moment. "Well, in that case, it might be a good idea. Sorry ta keep imposin' on ya like this, Kazuha. I almost feel like I'm usin' ya as my personal blood bank sometimes."

"That's not true, Heiji." Kazuha told him, rising to her feet. "It's not like yer forcin' me ta do anythin'- I've told ya that much before, haven't I? I give it to ya because yer my childhood friend, ya idiot. After spendin' all these years with ya, I couldn't possibly abandon ya like that. Now, here." Extending her wrist to him, an expectant look crossed her face. "Someone's supposed to come check up on us in a little bit, so hurry it up."

"Then, thanks fer the meal." Heiji joked, grinning a little as she rolled her eyes. With a flash of his fangs, he lightly sunk his teeth into her wrist, taking only just a small bit of blood from her. Drawing away after only a moment, Heiji licked his lips, erasing any stray traces of blood from them, watching as the bite mark he left behind slowly healed itself, leaving only two faint pinpricks behind.

A bit light on her feet now herself, Kazuha used the chair to steady herself. Still, Heiji's color seemed to improve a little, for which she was grateful. She was kind of worried about letting him out of her sight though- but if he didn't get more blood from a source that wasn't her soon, there would probably be trouble. Of course, using Jodie or Sera definitely was not an option, and she was pretty sure that Heiji hadn't even considered it. Strangers were one thing, but he didn't take blood from people he knew unless he had obtained permission for it first.

He hated it, she knew. She couldn't blame him.

"Better?" Kazuha asked, giving him a light smile.

"Yeah, better." Returning her smile with one of his own, willing his fangs back down again, Heiji leaned down, giving her a brief peck on the forehead. "Where would I be without ya, Kazuha?"

"Probably lyin' dead in a gutter somewhere." Kazuha answered frankly. "Now come on, Jodie-sensei said that she wanted ta talk with ya when ya woke up, Heiji. You've already been sleepin' fer the past three hours, ya probably shouldn't keep her waitin' any longer."

Sera had gone to stake out the house of Bradford Wise, if she recalled correctly. Jodie had tried to discourage her, given the current events, but she hadn't really listened. She had promised to give them a call if anything came up though, but as of yet, they hadn't heard anything from her. Although the culprit's interest seemed to be fixed pretty heavily on Heiji, she couldn't help but be worried.

Even if it was probably for the best that Sera wasn't here right now. When Kazuha had insisted that it was fine if they didn't call an ambulance, and that they didn't need to take him to a doctor, both FBI agent and high school detective alike had been rather skeptical of her words. Well, seeing Heiji up and walking about should help to dispel those, at the very least- at this rate, she was going to have to come up with a fake name for this fake illness that Heiji supposedly had- one that _definitely totally wasn't_ vampirism.

"Then, we shouldn't keep her waitin' much longer. Let's go, Kazuha."

* * *

So far, Bradford Wise hadn't made any suspicious moves.

At least, not any that involved leaving the confines of his house. In the two and a half hours that she had been staking the place out, making used of an abandoned property that she had spotted just across the way the last time they were here, he had only left his house once, to check the mail. She was starting to suspect that in spite of having a rather grand mansion for it's location, that this guy didn't actually have any servants- since she hadn't spotted any of those either.

Reclusive elderly man living alone in a grand town home that was basically a mansion, all things considered, with no servants at all to attend to him? There was definitely something a bit fishy there, even if he really did have nothing to do with the case. And that was something that she doubted very much, given the way that he had been behaving. There was something in his tone of voice, something in the way he had addressed them, that told her that much, almost as if he were making a confession. That confidence he had that they wouldn't find anything wasn't because he wasn't involved- it was because he was confident that he had covered his tracks well.

The biggest question in her mind was if he was acting as a patron for the previous four murders as well, or if the murders had only restarted because he had expressed an interest in being their patron. If latter were true, was the earlier theory of there being a patron for the first four murders true as well? And if that was so, why did they suddenly stop? Did their patron stop supporting them? Or did perhaps something happen to them?

What was the culprit's motive in the first place? There _had_ to be some kind of motive, even if it was one beyond her comprehension.

"Show me what secrets you've got, Mister Scrooge." Sera muttered underneath her breath, adjusting the binoculars that she had stopped to buy. "There's no way you're not hiding _something_."

If he had been the one to send the bat to Heiji's hotel room, then he had to have known that they were coming ahead of time. Given the fact that they had only found out about the package to him by pure chance, she doubted that was the case- so the culprit behind that, at the very least, probably wasn't him. Just as Jodie thought, it would appear that there was more than one culprit involved in this case- but even so, something about it still didn't add up.

How exactly was the culprit keeping tabs on them? Was there a chance that they were working for the FBI? If that was the case, it would be simple to monitor their every move. Still, that wouldn't explain how they knew exactly which hotel rooms they had been staying in- nevermind which of them was Heiji's. They hadn't been there long, after all, and the front desk wouldn't have known that information themselves, since Jodie had gotten the rooms for all of them, and had only passed out the keys once they had gotten to the third floor.

It certainly didn't _feel_ like someone was following them. To follow them all the way out here without losing him- they would have to be very talented indeed. That thought almost made her feel like she was being tracked, and as unpleasant a thought as that was, she couldn't help but feel like she wanted to rise to the challenge. She was never one to run away from such things, after all.

She doubted that _he_ would run away either. Certainly, she had some questions about the means of delivering it- was there any meaning to a bat being chosen? However, the meaning of it was crystal clear. With this recent incident, there was no doubt- the culprit was issuing a direct threat against Heiji, warning him that there would be consequences if he continued to be involved in this case. Jodie seemed determined to convince him to go back home- but she doubted that it would work. Even if she refused to allow him to investigate the matter with them any longer, she didn't doubt that Heiji would continue on his own anyways, in secret.

Well, she _was_ worried about Heiji, of course. Just because he was obviously keeping some very unusual secrets, didn't mean that she didn't like the guy- he was quite interesting, in fact. It almost seemed as if he hadn't been breathing when Kazuha had dragged him off to their room, an obvious lie on her lips about this being the sort of thing that happened to him from time to time, that it was nothing to worry about, on her lips. That panicked expression in her eyes was the truth- that she hadn't been expecting this to happen, and that something out of the ordinary for him had just occurred.

At the very least, she seemed to be calmer once she had gotten off the phone with someone, discussing the matter with them in hushed tones. If there was any merit to what she had been told by her earlier, perhaps she had been contacting his doctor, or something along those lines. Seeing her in a calmer state had told Sera that whatever had happened, Heiji's life probably wasn't in any danger- especially as she continued to insist that they didn't need to call an ambulance.

She was a little _too_ insistent about that, really. That in of itself was curious.

Well, right now wasn't the time to worry about such things.

"Oh?" Blinking a little as she adjusted her binoculars once more, a sly grin surfacing on her face. "He's finally come out, that old fox. Let's see what you've got up your sleeve." Leaning a bit closer to the window, Sera fixed her gaze on him, watching as he seemed to make his way down to his car. Just as she rose to her feet, getting ready to head out so that she could attempt to follow him, an overpowering feeling struck her all at once.

The feeling that she wasn't alone here.

Turning around on her heel, carefully scanning the empty room, she narrowed her eyes. For a moment, the figure of Madeline Craven, plummeting to her death, flashed through her eyes, as she searched the room to find no one. Still, the feeling that she wasn't alone here hadn't changed- and was growing more and more powerful by the second.

What was...?

She would have sworn underneath her breath were she capable of such a thing, for in the next second, she felt what she could only assume were hands wrap tightly around her neck. This strength... she could barely breathe. Gasping for breath, Sera narrowed her eyes, mind reeling, wondering what was happening right now- there was still no one else in the room- not that she could see, anyways. Once more, her mind's eye flashed back to the last moments that Madeline Craven had been alive- namely the fact that she could have sworn someone had pushed her out the window.

Someone that she couldn't see.

 _"It's almost as if some kind of invisible force pushed her out of the window."_

Like _hell_ she was going to let _herself_ be killed by something so absurd, though. If this thing had very solid hands to strangle her with, there was probably more to it. Gritting her teeth, she gripped her binoculars tightly, swinging them with all the strength that she could muster towards down on what she could only hope would be a pair of invisible, but equally solid, arms.

And felt one of the hands give way as she struck home. A fierce grin painting her lips, Sera kicked outwards, feeling her foot slam up against something, freeing her very quickly of the other hand. Gasping for breath, she placed a hand around her neck, rubbing where she had just been strangled, savoring the air that she got for everything that it was worth. Still, she couldn't let her guard down just yet- that thing, whatever the hell it was, was probably still here.

It was only when she felt the presence seem to fade, that she finally let out a deep breath, coughing a little as she did so. Slumping back against the wall, glancing down at the now shattered pair of binoculars that she still clutched in one hand, Sera closed her eyes for just one moment- before she snapped them wide open, swearing underneath her breath, remembering what she had been doing here in the first place.

He was gone- and his car with him, too. That timing was a little too much to be a coincidence. Clicking her tongue, she rubbed her neck once more, wondering if invisible hands would leave a very visible mark. Seriously, what the hell had that been? Whatever it was, it was in no way normal- just like everything about this case, she was starting to feel.

"Damnit, what am I going to tell them?" Sera mumbled, pushing herself to her feet, wondering if she really _was_ alone in the room right now. At the very least, she couldn't feel that thing's presence anymore- so it was probably gone, she thought. It had given up pretty easy once she had shown that she could resist it- and she found that even more curious. "That I was attacked by the _invisible man_?"

Still, somehow, she got the strangest feeling that Heiji and Kazuha would completely understand.


	9. The Vampire's Last Tea Party

**AN** : Chapter nine is here! We're rolling right along. Thanks for reading, as always, to both those of you who have been from the start and those of you joining us with this new chapter! Don't forget to leave a review while you're at it!

Until next time!

* * *

 **Bloodsport**

 **Chapter Nine**

 **The Vampire's Last Tea Party**

* * *

"Where did you get those bruises from, Sera-chan!?"

Judging from the equally shocked and concerned reaction she had garnered from Kazuha, it would appear that her encounter with the would-be invisible man hadn't just been her imagination after all. With distance from the site of her attack, and the time it had taken to return to the hotel, there was a part of her that was actively trying to convince her that it had just been a very vivid daydream. She wasn't really listening to it of course- as seemingly absurd as the events had been, she knew full well what she had experienced, and what she had seen.

Or well. What she _hadn't_ seen, rather.

"Ah, these?" Sera asked, resisting the urge to reach up a hand to touch her neck- it was probably going to be a bit tender in the coming days, especially if it was already starting to bruise. Perhaps she should follow Kazuha's example, and considered bandaging her throat- or just wearing something with a rather high neck. In this humidity though, perhaps bandages would be the better idea. She didn't even know if she had anything with a high neck on her to begin with. "Well, at the very least I can tell you now that there's almost _no way_ that Bradford Wise isn't involved in this _somehow_. Not that this comes as a surprise, I imagine."

"Incidentally, I see you're doing better, Hattori-kun. You had us worried there for a little while." Sera couldn't help but observe, her gaze flickering over towards him, not missing the rather pensive expression on his face. When he caught her looking towards him, it shifted a little, the Osakan detective flashing her a quick smile.

"Sorry, sorry, didn't mean ta." Heiji quickly apologized, rubbing the back of his neck. If Sera had suspicions about him before, he could only imagine that she had even more of them now. Well, whatever she came to think of him, as long as she didn't learn the truth, he would be able to pull out of this situation somehow. "I'm back in top form now though, so ya don't have ta worry about me. Rather, I think it's _you_ we should be worryin' about right now."

"I can't deny that." Sera said with a small laugh. Granted, Heiji's sudden fainting spell- as well as the very adamant way Kazuha had refused to let anyone else get close to him- was still fresh on her mind, but the current turn of events was even more important than whatever it was Hattori Heiji was hiding. Although if she didn't miss her guess, she was getting the feeling more and more that the culprit behind these murders somehow knew about it themselves- which was quite curious. "The important thing is that I managed to get away from my attacker. Is Jodie-san in? I need to discuss this matter with her as well."

"Yeah, she's still here. Kazuha an' I just finished talkin' ta her, so she should still be in her room." Heiji said, nodding his head, narrowing his eyes. It hadn't been easy to convince Jodie to let him stick with the case. "Any chance ya wanna discuss the matter with me first? Who was it that attacked ya, Sera-han? Ya don't seem like the type of person whose all that easy ta sneak up on, after all."

"Generally speaking, I'm _not_." Sera told him frankly. "The issue was this time, well," there was a pause there, as she considered if she should tell him what went on in that empty room truthfully or not. "...I couldn't see them at all. It was like I was attacked by some kind of invisible man. I didn't even notice that there was someone else in the room with me until I was fighting for air."

Just as before, back in Madeline Craven's apartment, the mention of something so absurd didn't even make Heiji flinch. Perhaps her fellow high school detective was the sort who believed in that sort of thing to begin with- even if it _was_ a rather odd trait for one to have. Nor did she miss the way that Kazuha's hand twitched out of the corner of her eye, although the girl masked the rest of her reaction well.

"Well, it's clear enough that visible or not, somethin' attacked ya, considerin' they left some very _visible_ marks. Are ya sure ya don't need ta get yerself checked out at a hospital? Strangulation is nothin' ta take lightly." Heiji noted.

"I could say the same thing about you, Hattori-kun." Sera observed. "Suddenly fainting like that- that's the sort of thing that would worry just about anyone. Although your color _is_ looking better than it was before you passed out."

"Like I said before, nothin' a bit of good rest couldn't cure." Heiji said simply, shrugging his shoulders. Well, it was more the bit of Kazuha's blood that he had taken for her- although it wasn't nearly enough. It would have to tide him over until that night, though, because only an _idiot_ would go hunting for prey in a busy city in _broad daylight_. "I _do_ know how ta take care of myself, Sera-han."

"I suppose that's true." Sera said simply, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Although, I have to say, I'm surprised that you didn't question my earlier claim at all." Opening her eyes, she cast an assessing look up towards him. "And you knew about the Dullahan earlier. That's not quite your average knowledge. Are you interested in that sort of thing, Hattori-kun?"

"Ya might say that. My track record fer people pullin' weird stunts an' tryin' ta blame them on monsters is... _extensive_." Heiji said after a moment, narrowing his eyes. "I just see no reason ta question ya about what ya saw- or didn't see, as the case may be. Ya don't seem like the type ta lie about somethin' like that, not when it's related ta the case."

"You barely even know me." Sera observed.

"I'm a good judge of character." Heiji reassured her, flashing her broad grin. "Unless we're talkin' about with _lawyers_ , apparently."

Given the look that Heiji and Kazuha shared between them, Sera guessed that something must have happened in the past. She supposed it wasn't quite that important, especially not given that he was talking about it so freely. "I see. Well, in that case, I had better go and let Jodie-san know about this development. There's a chance that Bradford Wise might be using this chance to leave the city, if not the state entirely. We need to track what he's doing, before he disappears entirely on us."

"Ah, but there is one more thing I should probably tell you first. I did say earlier that I didn't notice that I wasn't alone until I was being strangled, but that's not entirely true either." Sera noted, a slight frown on her face. For some reason, she got the feeling that this information would do Heiji more good than it would Jodie. "Just a second before that, I got the overwhelming feeling that I wasn't alone there. It was as if some kind of heavy presence had descended upon the room."

"I'll keep that in mind." Heiji told her, stepping aside to let her pass. As she did so, his eyes narrowed, fixed on the blossoming bruise around her neck.

An invisible man, huh?

If there had been even a fragment of doubt before, there was no mistake about it now. This case definitely involved things that were more and more becoming his area of expertise lately. It was funny that Sera had brought up his knowledge of the Dullahan, really, because he still recalled what he had told her back then- that he didn't have much of a choice in the matter when it came to knowing such things. It wasn't how he expected his life to turn out at all, but now that it had, and now that it seemed like this was going to become his fate, he had to try and learn of such things, otherwise there would be consequences, and probably sooner than later.

He might be immortal, but those around him _weren't_. And as long as they were around him, he needed to take to make sure he never did anything that would lead them getting into harm's way. If something happened to someone that he knew, because of him... well, he wouldn't allow it to happen in the first place. He already had to experience Kazuha nearly falling off a cliff and getting mixed up in a hostage situation because of him- never again would he let something like that happen, not to anyone.

If there really were some kind of invisible man, some kind of invisible force involved in this, then he needed to look into it, and he needed to do it before anyone else could get hurt by it. As resident of _that_ world, however new he might be to it himself, that was his responsibility.

"Hey, Kazuha." Glancing down towards her, Heiji gave her a small smile, even as he recognized that look in her eyes. She didn't even need him to finish his sentence to know what it was he was thinking. She wasn't going to let him go that easily, not after what happened earlier- but at the same time, she was also probably resolving herself to being unable to stop him. "Where was it exactly that Sera-han was watchin' that Bradford guy from anyways?"

* * *

"Ya didn't have ta come _with_ me."

Impervious to Heiji's grumbling, Kazuha merely brushed both it and his otherwise impressive glower off as if they were nothing. "Of course I did, _idiot_. One thing's crystal clear now- that at least one of the people involved in this case not only knows yer a vampire, but knows a good bit about 'em on top of that. I'm pretty sure that bat was meant ta serve as an example of what would happen to ya if ya didn't quit pokin' yer nose into their business."

"Pssh. They can't know _that_ much about vampires if they think stakes are meant ta _kill_ us." Heiji said, all but brushing off her concern- even though he knew full well she had a valid point. But that was the entire reason he _hadn't_ come here unarmed, after all- the bag in which his sword was contained was slung over one shoulder. It might have been a sword designed to slay vampires originally, but it would work against a whole host of other supernatural entities just as well.

"I'm pretty sure that was just meant ta make it real obvious that they knew what ya were, if the _dead bat_ didn't send ya that message somehow." There was a slight pause there, as Kazuha glanced over his way, pursing her lips together. "Speakin' of which, Heiji, can ya turn into one?"

"Hah? Turn into what?" Heiji asked, his brows knitting together, before it dawned on him what she meant. "What, a bat? Of course I can't do somethin' like that, _idiot_. That's just made up, made up! Don't tell me ya've been readin' more terrible vampire novels lately."

"They're funny." Kazuha told him frankly, a hint of a grin crossing her face. "Especially when yer own childhood friend is one himself. I'm pretty sure ya could take most of the vampires in those books yerself. Probably _would_ get into a fight with more than half of them if they existed anyways, even if ya couldn't win it."

"I should _hope_ I would be able ta win against _badly written romance novel protagonists_." Heiji couldn't help but quip. "Now stop distractin' me, I gotta actually focus on this, ya know. Remind me again why ya dragged yerself along with me again?"

"Like I just said, I'm worried about ya." Kazuha repeated. "Besides, Jodie-han said it, didn't she? That she doesn't want you goin' anywhere by yerself as long as yer investigating this case. Yer just lucky she didn't shut ya out an' try an' send ya home. Yer even more lucky that they didn't notice anythin' weird about ya durin' yer fainting spell back there either. Need I remind ya who ya have ta thank fer that?"

"Yes, yes, thank ya very much!" Heaving a long sigh, Heiji cast a glance over towards her. He really _was_ grateful to her. Even though she had probably been panicking in her own right after seeing him black out like that, she had still managed to stay on top of the situation, and had handled it in a manner that prevented it from getting any worse. "Now ya wanna help me look around this place, or what? We'll start with the floor Sera-han was attacked on, of course, but it would be best if we scoured the whole place."

"Ya smell anythin'?" Kazuha asked.

"Nah, my nose isn't _that_ good, ya know." Heiji told her. "I'm a _vampire_ , not a werewolf. Besides a trace of Sera-han's scent, I can't make anythin' else out. We don't even know if what attacked her is an actual invisible person, or just some kinda... I don't know, some kind of _invisible force_ , like she said earlier."

"I guess that's true." Kazuha said with a slight frown. "Should we split up then?"

" _Idiot_ , weren't ya listenin'? There's a chance that whatever attacked her might pop up out of the woodwork again. What are ya gonna do if it corners ya? It's invisible, ya know." Heiji pointed out. "Sera-han was lucky enough ta get away in the first place." Heaving a sigh, he rubbed the back of his neck, an irritated look crossing his face. "If I knew somethin' like this was gonna happen, I would've asked Mitsuta-han or Takako fer some wards or somethin'. I _knew_ I should have brought some with me."

"Speaking of wards, when you were goin' over Craven-san's apartment, did ya notice anythin' strange like that?" Kazuha asked, carefully watching Heiji's back as the two of them made their way up the stairs of the abandoned building, heading to the floor where Sera had been watching Bradford's home from. "There's a chance that she might have known something was after her, given the way she was behaving just before. Both you an' Sera-chan have said that much already. If that was the case, wouldn't it make sense if she had somethin' like that?"

"Not that I noticed." Heiji told her, shaking his head. "I would have been the _first_ ta notice if there had been anythin' like that set up, unless they were dispelled with their owner's death." Frowning a little, his brows furrowed together. "Which, now that ya mention it, is kinda strange. If she had any idea that somethin' like that might come after her, enough ta make her jumpy, why _didn't_ she make any preparations fer it?"

"Maybe she didn't expect ta be killed?" Kazuha offered. "Or maybe she just didn't care enough."

"No, I think that lady cared about her own life plenty enough." Heiji said, shaking his head. "Somethin' doesn't make sense here."

"Do ya think she knew who the culprit was, in the end? Not just her, but the rest of Hayden-san's pupils as well?" Kazuha asked.

"Given that they were all killed, it's possible." Heiji told her, glancing back towards her. "That makes me wonder about the murder of the first one from three years ago, though. I can understand why the other three would have been killed now, if they really knew who was behind the murders, but why would Elizabeth Parker have been killed _three years ago_? Somethin' about that doesn't add up either."

"Maybe she was goin' ta talk?" Kazuha mused, folding her arms in her chest. "Maybe all four of them were involved in the cases before the more recent two somehow. Jodie-sensei _did_ say that she thought that this case had multiple culprits."

"That's one theory." Heiji mused. "In that case, there's a chance that someone who knew her might remember somethin'. I should try an' get that information from Jodie-han as well, too, but..." scratching his head, Heiji let out another frustrated sigh, "...I don't know if she'll give me information that might result in me goin' off on my own now. Sera-han either, given that she was actually physically attacked."

He couldn't help but wonder what it was that Sera was going to tell her. He didn't think Jodie was the type to brush off someone earnestly telling her what they had experienced, even if it didn't sound entirely sensible- but she did seem to be the skeptical type. That could be said for the both of them, really- the fact that none of them had begun to really piece together what he was, especially after that package turned up, was a testament to that. It was to be expected that people who didn't believe in anything supernatural to not turn to that as an explanation for things that they found strange.

To those who believed in such things, a bat with a stake through it addressed to him probably would have been crystal clear message as to what he was. He supposed in that matter, he was lucky, for once.

"Guess I could try lookin' it up myself." Heiji said after a moment, all but sensing Kazuha's gaze sharpening from behind. Casting a glance back towards her, he gave her something of a sheepish smile. "Come now, Kazuha, ya know I'll be fine. I'm pretty sure that vampire that I fought was a lot tougher than whatever it was we're facin' here, an' that one was actually tryin' ta set me up in the first place."

"You would think _literally dyin'_ would do somethin' ta cure yer recklessness, but I guess not." Kazuha couldn't help but observe, heaving a long sigh of her own. There was nothing that she could do to stop him, she knew that much already, and she couldn't accompany him everywhere. If things got really bad, and beyond what she could handle as a human, she might just get in the way. As much as she didn't like feeling helpless, she knew when to admit her own weakness- but she also knew what to take away from those times when she felt powerless.

She had been debating about it for awhile now, but it was probably for the best if she took up Takako's offer of teaching her some magic. If she really had potential, like the shrine maiden had told her, then she should probably give it a shot. It was true that she wouldn't live as long as Heiji would, but while she was still alive, she wanted to still be the sort of person who could stand by his side, to the very end. To that extent, learning some magic might give her the edge that she was looking for- at the very least to protect herself, if not her idiot boyfriend along with it.

"I'm not _that_ reckless." Heiji protested, grumbling a little as he checked the stairwell sign, confirming that this was their floor. Opening up the door, he headed into the hallway, once again picking up a trace of Sera's scent. She had definitely been here- but aside from his own and that of Kazuha's, he couldn't pick up anything more. If he could still pick up Sera's, then there was no reason why he wouldn't be able to detect the scent of anyone who had been with her here at the same time.

In other words, whatever it was didn't leave behind any kind of scent. Being invisible wouldn't get rid of something like that- nor would it prevent people from being able to hear you move, for that matter. Judging from what Sera had told him, she hadn't even noticed someone was in the room with her until they literally had their hands around her neck.

No, that wasn't quite right. It had been a second before that, actually- as if she had felt some kind of heavy presence, like she wasn't alone anymore.

Was there some kind of spell like that, maybe? Or maybe it was some kind of ghost? If it was a ghost they were up against, at least he was able to see those himself now- something that came part and parcel with being the living dead. But if it wasn't, if it was something else... He really _did_ need to call his old man up to see if he could get into contact with Okubo Karen again. She was the only one he knew off the top of his head that might be able to answer that question. Mitsuta didn't know that much about magic, and Takako's kind of magic probably wasn't anything like what they were dealing with here, if they were in fact, dealing with some kind of magic.

Witchcraft, Kazuha had said earlier. Maybe she'd been right on the mark.

* * *

"So you're telling me that not only do I have to accept the fact that magic _exists_ , but that people are using it for _murder_ now?"

"Kudo, I don't know what ta tell ya, but I'm pretty sure people havin' been usin' magic fer murder since like, _the invention of magic_." Heiji replied, unable to help the broad grin that spread across his face. He had kind of expected his rival to react in this way to his theories, but he never got tired of hearing Conan's exasperation when it came to all things supernatural. Even if he _did_ still share the sentiment sometimes, more than he was willing to admit. "I don't think I need ta tell you, of all people, that humans will use literally whatever they can ta murder someone if they've really set their minds ta it."

"Unfortunately, I'm well aware of that." Conan's rather dry reply only made Heiji's grin grow even wider. "So? Why are you calling me? Isn't that more of _your_ area of expertise, Hattori?"

"Hey now, just because I'm a vampire, doesn't mean that I understand all that much about magic." Heiji replied, his lips twisting into a frown. "Besides, that's not the part that I'm callin' ya about anyways. That old man of yers gets called on by all sorts of agencies ta help them with their work, right? I was hopin' there might be a chance he might have some case notes about this one floatin' around at yer place."

Nothing had turned up in his earlier investigation, and waiting around hadn't caused the mysterious invisible assailant to show up again. The only good thing of note was that Bradford Wise had not been trying to leave the city- he had returned home while Heiji and Kazuha were still going over the abandoned building next to his own property. That probably just meant that he truly believed that he had no reason to run- which kind of pissed Heiji off. The fact that he had been denied access to his place meant that he couldn't even attempt to get some answers from him using a more... _persuasive_ method than normal. Sure, they wouldn't be admissible in say, court, but they would get them somewhere.

"He doesn't, I already asked him." Conan said. "But I do know someone who might know something about the case."

"Oh? Who?" Heiji blinked, frowning a little. "This is the first time I'm hearin' about this, Kudo, considerin' I'm pretty sure yer not talkin' about Jodie-han here."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, almost as if he were considering what to tell him. "I'm not really at the liberty to tell you, Hattori." He said finally, almost able to visualize his friend's glower from the other end of the phone. If there was one thing that he knew about Heiji, it was the fact that he didn't appreciate being left out of stuff that he considered himself already involved in.

Granted, as he was now, Heiji didn't have that much to fear from the average human- even from ones like the members of the Organization. But that didn't mean that those around him were the same- and it didn't mean Conan wanted to see him put in harm's way, nearly immortal though he was. He could still feel pain, after all- seeing him after that vampire hunter's attack, half blind and missing half an arm... he never wanted to see him in a state like that ever again. There was no telling what he was willing to put his body through now that he practically couldn't die.

Besides, somehow he got the feeling that letting the Organization in on the existence of vampires was... _probably_ not a good thing.

"Yer keepin' things from my again, aren't ya?" Heiji grumbled, narrowing his eyes. "Ya know I've said it time an' time again, I'm always ready ta help ya."

"Believe me Hattori, I know." Conan said. "But for the moment, this is a matter that's best if only a very select number of people know about it. There's already one more who knows the truth than I would like as it is already. More importantly, we were talking about your case, not mine. And seeing as yours is the more pressing of the two at these second..."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Grumbling some more, Heiji heaved a long sigh. He'd back off for now, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Not that he could really claim that he was any different- he hadn't told Conan yet about the package that had been addressed to him, considering that he didn't want his friend to worry. It was bad enough putting up with Kazuha's worries, he didn't need to deal with Conan fretting over him either- even if he could only do it on the other end of a phone. "Well, ask that person anyways if ya can. Even if this case might involve some kind of magic or witchcraft, that doesn't mean I can't solve it the same as any other."

"I will. I was going to do that anyways, even before you asked me to." Conan told him. "Well, I'll hurry up with it, since you're calling me about it. Did something happen, Hattori?"

"Yeah. That female high school detective workin' with us was attacked." Heiji told him, narrowing his eyes. "By somethin' that she couldn't see, at that. Well, luckily just because she couldn't see 'em, didn't mean that she couldn't hit 'em, so she managed ta get away. I went an' investigated the place after the fact myself, an' couldn't pick up a single trace of the assailant. An' given my senses, that's sayin' somethin'."

"An invisible assailant?" He could almost hear Conan's eyes narrowing in thought over the phone. "That sounds dangerous. Is Kazuha-chan alright? Are you sure you shouldn't send her back home?"

"I don't think she would go back home even if I told her to." Heiji said frankly, his lips twisting into a deep frown. She was downstairs getting dinner with Jodie and Sera, at the moment, leaving him alone in the hotel room. "An' besides that..." Trailing off a little, he turned towards his door, hearing the sound of a knock on it. "Ah, sorry, Kudo, someone's payin' me a visit. I'll call ya later."

Hanging up before his friend could protest too much, Heiji tucked his cellphone away, heading towards the door. Pausing to peer through the peephole, he blinked a little, wondering what Sera could want from him- hadn't gone downstairs to meet with everyone else for dinner?

"What's up, Sera-han?" Heiji asked, opening the door, staring down at her rather curiously. "Ya need somethin' from me?"

"Nothing major, I just thought I would invite you down to dinner with us. Kazuha-chan says you're planning on getting something later, but..." Trailing off a little, Sera cast an almost business-like smile up towards. "...I can't help but notice that you haven't joined us for dinner even once yet."

Grumbling a little, wondering why Kazuha hadn't tried to stop her, Heiji heaved a sigh. Well, he might as well try and force himself to join them for once. "Sure, sure, I'll come down. Honestly, I can't believe yer leisurely eatin' dinner after you were attacked like that. Yer made of some tough stuff, Sera-han."

"Well, some of us don't faint at the scent of a little blood." Sera said lightly. "I'm amazed that you can be a detective if you do things like that."

"That wasn't it!" Heiji protested, grumbling at her. He might have some issues with blood now that he was vampire- but passing out from the smell of it wasn't one of them. " _Honestly_. The reason I fainted had nothin' ta do with the blood. I can handle it just _fine_ , thank ya very much!"

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to insult you." Sera said, stepping back, letting him out of his hotel room, watching as he closed the door behind him. She couldn't help but peer into it as he did, frowning a little as she once more took notice of the long case that he had resting against his bed. He had taken it out with him earlier, when he had gone to check on the abandoned building where she had been attacked. She had seen him carry it back into the hotel, and couldn't help but wonder what it was.

Even if he was supposed to be a kendo champion, surely he wouldn't bring a _sword_ with him all the way here. That was the first thing that she could think of though- that it was some type of wooden sword, or something like that.

"What are you lookin' at?" Heiji asked, glancing down towards her with a slight frown.

"It's nothing." Sera told him simply, shaking her head. "Come on then, everyone's waiting for us downstairs."

Frowning a little, Heiji tucked his hands into his pockets, carefully watching Sera's back as he walked behind her. He couldn't help but let his mind drift towards what he had almost told Conan- about why he thought it wouldn't be that good of an idea to send Kazuha back home right now. Sure, he doubted that she would go at this point, even if he tried forcing her to do it, but that wasn't the only reason.

Would she really make it to the airport? Would she really make it on the plane? Would she really make it back to Japan? Even though the threats had been all directed at him, Heiji couldn't help but be wary of letting Kazuha out of anyone's sight for too long. Keeping her in his own sight was the best- but there were places that he just couldn't bring her with him, places she couldn't follow him, and probably wouldn't want to.

It felt stupid to be ashamed of it, since he'd let Conan see as much before himself, but he didn't want to have her see him searching for what basically amounted to _prey_. Such a thing wouldn't change anything between them, but... that was a part of his new existence that he didn't want to show Kazuha. Taking blood from her was one thing, given that it was willingly offered to him- even if there were aspects to that that made him feel uncomfortable, but this was another matter entirely. In a way, he felt bad about it- it was as if he couldn't put his full faith in her. He knew that wasn't the case, but even so.

Even so, he didn't want her to see that.

* * *

"It's a bit late to be going out, isn't it?"

It wasn't like he hadn't heard her behind him- of course he had. It might have only been a few days, but that was plenty of time for him to become rather familiar with the sound of her heartbeat, after all. Turning slightly on his heel, he glanced back towards Sera, giving her something of a sheepish smile- before he noticed that she was also still wearing her street clothes, in spite of the late hour.

"I could say the same thing fer ya." Heiji noted, glancing her up and down. "Ya goin' somewhere, Sera-han?"

"I believe I was the one to ask first." Sera noted.

"Well, that's true." Heiji admitted, scratching a cheek. He couldn't exactly tell her what it was that he was planning on actually doing- but still, if he lied and told her that he was going to look into some angle in regards to the case, not only would she expect to see results, she might actually want to come with him. That, obviously, could not happen. "I was just goin' out ta get a bite ta eat."

A _bite_ to eat. God, he wanted to smack himself for that.

"You did eat rather sparingly at dinner, I'm not surprised that you're still hungry." Sera observed with a frown. "Has anyone ever told you that you eat like a bird, Hattori-kun? I thought all teenage boys were more, well... _ravenous_ , when it came to food.'

"Like I said before, I have a sensitive stomach. That restaurant just didn't really have that much I could eat." Heiji told her, resisting the urge to take a slight step back, and make a sprint for it. No way that wouldn't look the least bit suspicious, as much as it was what he felt the urge to do. "I was just goin' ta get somethin' that I could eat properly."

"At midnight?" Sera asked, quirking a brow.

"Sure. Haven't ya ever heard of the concept of midnight snacks?" Heiji asked. "Seriously, what are ya still doin' awake yerself, Sera-han. Ya look like yer headed out fer the night yerself. Didn't get a big enough taste of danger this afternoon?"

"A detective can never have too much." Sera said simply, giving him a rather placid smile. "I was going to try staking out that old man's place again. You never know, I might get luckier this time. Of course, I couldn't tell Jodie-san something like that."

"Cause she'll try an' stop ya?" Heiji asked. "Well, not that I can say that I blame ya. Still, be careful, okay? I'll come join ya even, once I'm done with what I need ta do."

"Why don't I come with you, then?" Sera asked, tilting her head. "You can pick up something to eat on the go. I'm feeling a bit hungry now myself, actually, now that we've brought up food. Perhaps I didn't quite eat enough myself either."

"Ah, well, that's..." Trailing off, Heiji averted his eyes from her, wondering what he should say here. If he tried to refuse her too adamantly, would that have the opposite effect? "It's fine, it's fine. I'll pick ya somethin' up myself an' bring it to ya. If yer gonna stake out his place, it's better ta get there sooner, rather than later, right? Who knows, he might have already changed his mind an' decided ta leave underneath the cover of darkness. We never did figure out where it was he went today, anyways."

"That's true." Sera admitted after a moment, nodding her head. "Be careful though, Hattori-kun. You're the one being threatened, after all. Still though, I do have to kind of wonder about the symbolism. Why a bat?"

"Who knows." Heiji said, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe they were tryin' ta be clever by referencin' their first paintin'?"

It was all he could do not to show the wince that he was feeling internally- if Sera hadn't drawn any link between his unusual traits and vampires, she was going to start doing that _now_. What an idiot he was! Kudo and Kazuha were right- he really was a lousy liar.

"Ah, you're right. That was The Vampire's Last Tea Party, correct?" Sera frowned, recalling the painting in question. There was something about that that tugged at her memory, causing her to furrow her brows in thought, before she slowly drew a conclusion. "And if I recall, the victim of that murder is related to the victim from another case you worked on. You said it was the reason you were here, wasn't it?"

Come to think of it, both of _those_ cases had involved vampires too- maybe the culprit was playing a rather cruel joke, then. Especially when one factored in Heiji's own abnormally low body temperature, and his mild sun allergy- maybe they thought it was funny. She hadn't looked too deeply into the first case that the victim of the second case, Claire Grady, had been involved in as a culprit, but she couldn't help but wonder if Heiji had gotten caught up in the hysteria that seemed to have seized Osaka during the murders. She certainly had found a number of almost tabloid-like articles about the case, even after the main culprit had been caught.

Come to think of it, why had the culprit in that case needed something like a partner in the first place? What was it that Claire Grady had even done? And why did Heiji's link to her seem to bother the culprit so much, that they would taunt him this way? Was there more to the murder of the first victim, Marie Grady, than they had first thought? Was there perhaps some kind of significance to this case, and vampires?

Perhaps she should look into any possible connection the victims might have had to the supernatural creatures that they had been painted as. Of course, such things weren't real- but there might be something to be found, some kind of key to the case, if she dug into the victim's histories, and the folklore behind the monsters they were displayed as. It was worth checking out, at the very least.

"Ah, yeah. That's probably it." Heiji said, nodding his head, fighting the urge to let out a long sigh of relief. That worked out just fine, he guessed- it was a good thing that he had told them partially about the circumstances that had lead him to this case, then. As long as she thought that, she probably wouldn't think anything too much further down that path. "Well, I'll see ya at the stakeout location, Sera-han."

"Don't you need to know where I'll be?" Sera asked, having been so absorbed in her thoughts, that she almost hadn't heard him speak. "Even I'm not going to use the same location as before."

"Nah, it's okay, I'll find ya." Heiji told her, flashing her a broad grin. "I _am_ a detective, after all."

A _vampire_ detective, that was. For something like that, tracking the heartbeat of someone he was looking for was as simple as they came.


	10. One Man's Absurd is Another Man's Truth

**AN** : Oh hey, it's chapter ten! Double digits! We're starting to get into the real meat of this case. As always, I thank all of those of you who are reading this work, but most especially those of you who take the time to leave a review- you really are what propels me to keep going, so thanks!

Until next time!

* * *

 **Bloodsport**

 **Chapter Ten**

 **One Man's Absurdity is Another Man's Truth**

* * *

"I was starting to wonder if you were actually coming or not, Hattori-kun." With a slight frown on her features as she addressed the young man who almost felt as if he had appeared out of nowhere, Sera cast a glance back towards the house that she had been staking out. Naturally, she had chosen a different location from the last time, and was observing the house from the nearby square. The view was a bit more limited, but she wasn't going to test her luck by observing the house from the same place she had been attacked. "Take care of your midnight snack?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Heiji told her, dropping a fast food bag into her outstretched hands. Before coming here, he had made sure to erase any stray traces of blood that might have clung to him. Since he had half a year of practice in doing so, he had gotten pretty good at it. "Here, as promised, I picked ya up somethin' as well."

"Oh, thank you." With a quick smile, Sera accepted the bag, digging into it without any reservations. "I thought you couldn't handle stuff like fast food though."

"I can't." Heiji said simply, placing his hands on his waist, quirking a brow. "That's why I got ya somethin' else. Ya probably wouldn't have been interested in what I was havin' anyways."

"Well, you never know! I love trying new foods." Sera told him, taking a bite out of the burger that he had bought.

"No, I'm _pretty sure_ ya wouldn't." Heiji said simply. If there were a normal human out there that enjoyed drinking human blood, that would probably be grounds to call the police. Somehow, he almost didn't doubt that there _were_ such weirdos out there, and frankly, he couldn't understand that at all. He had to drink it to live, but it wasn't like he particularly enjoyed it. The notion that anyone could willingly _want_ to drink it was completely baffling to him. "Anythin' happen?"

"No, nothing yet." Sera said, shaking her head, turning her attention back towards the house. "At the very least, nothing that I can tell. Nobody has come or gone from the place since I got here. Since there's no back door, if they wanted to leave, they would have to use the front door."

"Unless they wanted ta crawl out one of the back windows or somethin'." Heiji couldn't help but quip. "But somehow I have trouble picturin' that old man doin' somethin' like that. He's probably been in better shape."

"The tragedy of growing old." Sera couldn't help but remark, her slight smile fading a little as she couldn't help but notice something of a strange expression flash through Heiji's eyes at her joke. Even though it was gone in the same second that she had noticed it, she didn't think it was any kind of trick of the light. "He might really be the patron, just as Jodie-san thought."

"The question is, how did he get in contact with the culprit in the first place?" Heiji asked, placing a hand to his chin, mulling it over. "Or did the culprit get into contact with him first? If he has a way of contactin' them, then we might be able ta use it ta our advantage. It would be best if he knew the culprit's identity, but considerin' those four were all killed fer probably that reason, I'm not sure he does."

"Which would mean the culprit was the one who contacted him." Sera observed. "Which means that he might have something that they need. Money, perhaps. It can't be easy to obtain such large canvases and frames, not to mention getting enough to paint to actually paint them in the first place. He obviously has more money than sense if he's interested in paintings like _that_."

"Well, I can't say that they don't fit his image." Heiji couldn't help but quip, arching a brow, flashing something of a grin at the slight snort that earned him from Sera. He should probably send a picture of the guy to Kudo, if he got the chance- it might give him something of a laugh. "Maybe our patron had his hands in some dirty business aside from tax evasion, an' caught the culprit's eyes that way. Unless it's possible that old man has been the patron from the very start, in which case they've probably been in contact ever since the first murder, twelve years ago."

"Possibly even earlier than that. If I recall, he moved from England to America thirteen years ago, so he would have already been living here at the time of the first murder." Sera said, nodding her head. "In that case, it would be a good idea to take a closer look at his art business one more time. I doubt he would be doing anything illegal on the surface, but there might be hints of it if we dig deep enough."

"Probably." Folding his arms in front of his chest in thought, Heiji mulled over the information that he had managed to gather so far. "That daughter bothers me too- no matter how ya look at it, she stands out. Even if she's in the care of the FBI right now, it's strange that she's the _only_ name in that notebook that hasn't been killed. There's definitely a reason fer that."

"I think so as well." Sera said, nodding her head. "It's possible that her mother was killed by an early accomplice of hers once she earned the attention of the FBI. Well, given her age back then, I doubt it was her daughter. She would have still been in middle school when the first murder happened."

"Still, the fact that the paintin' style hasn't changed at all bugs me." Heiji said. "I don't know that much about art, but it's probably not that easy to perfectly replicate someone else's style so well. Even if they _were_ taught by the same person, they would probably have some kind of difference between them. Judgin' from the gallery that her daughter put online of her mother's works, there's no doubt that hers is the same style used in the paintings, even if the content of them is different."

"The fact that they've been consistent all this time probably means that the same person is involved in painting all of them. Since the style of her paintings was what had the FBI considering Amelia Hayden as a possible suspect in the first place, for the style of them not to change at all after her murder..." Sera said. "That is a bit strange. Although I admit that I don't know all that much about art either."

"Given the chance, I really _do_ want ta take a good look at the house they lived in at the time." Heiji mused. He got the feeling that if he went there, he might be able to understand something. There was something about this case, other than the identity of the culprit, that was alluding him at the moment. Something... something that he wasn't considering.

What he had told Kudo earlier was true- he really didn't understand too much about magic. He had certainly been doing his research on the sort of world he had been thrust into now, but that was a topic that he hadn't dwelled too much on, other than learning about basic wards and charms. If there really _was_ magic involved in this case, then that was beyond the limit of his current understanding.

Witchcraft. If that was the case, he really doubted Mitsuta would know much about it. Still, there was a chance that she could at least put him in contact with someone who _did_ \- it would be worth calling her, in that case.

"I agree." Sera said, nodding her head. "Well, we'll have to try again tomorrow to convince Jodie to give us the address. Will your friends here still be willing to give us a lift there?"

"Ah, probably." Heiji said quickly, for a brief moment, not quite understanding what she meant. That's right- Kazuha had covered up for him by saying something along those lines, hadn't she? Well, he didn't doubt that Mitsuta knew someone here who owned a helicopter, and was willing to loan it out to them, pilot and all, so it was pretty much the same thing. "I'll have ta check with them again, but I should be able ta arrange somethin' like that."

And if push came to shove, it wasn't as if he didn't have a way to _make_ Jodie give him what he wanted, but he would rather not resort to hypnosis unless he had no other choice. As convenient as it could be, he was honestly loathe to use it for things like this, not unless he had a good reason for it. He didn't want to get too used to it, didn't want to risk becoming the sort of person who would end up abusing such a power.

Besides, if he hadn't used it on Ran like he had that one time, he might have never ended up in a situation where he had come far too close to harming those he cared about. Other than erasing the memories of those he drank blood from, it was best to use it sparingly, especially on those he knew.

"Anyways, Sera-han, why don't ya let me take over here?" Heiji asked, glancing over towards the house that they were watching. "Ya've had a long day, an' I've already had a long nap today myself. Ya should head back ta the hotel an' get some rest."

"Are you sure?" Sera asked. "It might make more sense for us to watch the place in shifts."

"Nah, it's fine." Heiji told her, flashing her a broad grin. It wasn't as if he really _needed_ to sleep all that much anymore, just from time to time. "I can handle it. Besides, if both of us aren't there at the hotel when Jodie-han wakes up, she might not be willin' ta let us go off on our own ta do anythin', much less snoop around the house of a former suspect."

"That's certainly true." Sera admitted after a moment, letting out a small laugh. "Then, I'll leave the matter to you, Hattori-kun. But be careful. There's a chance that whatever it was that attacked might still be around. You're the one the actual threats have been directed at, don't forget that."

"Ya don't have ta worry about me, Sera-han. I'm a pretty hard guy ta kill, after all."

* * *

"No wonder I couldn't find ya anywhere when I woke up this mornin'." With a long sigh escaping from her lips, Kazuha merely folded her arms in front of her chest, giving Heiji a rather exasperated look. She couldn't say that she wasn't used to this sort of thing by now. "Ya did somethin' that risky, an' ya didn't even bring yer sword with ya? I think by now it should be fairly clear that what we're dealin' with isn't somethin' normal."

"It's not like it was my _original_ plan." Heiji told her, flashing her a nervous smile in an attempt to calm her down a little. Well, he couldn't blame her for getting a bit mad. "I ran into Sera-han when I was leavin', so it just ended up that way. Besides, it would have been worse if she had been the one ta stake out the place all night, wouldn't it? Considerin' that we don't know what we're dealin' with here, she probably got lucky yesterday."

"I suppose it can't be helped then." Kazuha said simply. "So? Did ya finally get somethin' ta eat in the end, Heiji?"

"Yeah, no worries there." Heiji said. "I put in a call ta Mitsuta-han while I was at it too, ta see if she could look into the matter from her side of things. She said that she knew someone who was familiar with witchcraft, an' was goin' ta try an' get into contact with them."

He was also still waiting on a call from Kudo, in the event that he had ended up learning anything new from this mysterious source of his. Once he returned home, he would be giving him some rather firm words about not keeping such important secrets from him. He could sense that there was something going on with those shady men in black of his that Kudo hadn't told him about yet. That wouldn't do at all! What was their friendship even for if he wouldn't let him help him when he needed it?

"So it really _was_ witchcraft!" Kazuha said, a rather pleased expression crossing her face. "An' ta think, ya were the one soundin' so skeptical about my theory, mister _vampire detective_!"

"We still don't know if it is or isn't." Heiji told her, brows knitting together in a slight glower. If it really turned out to be the case that it _was_ , he was never going to be able to live this down, was he? "But well, there's definitely somethin' that seems magic-like goin' on here, so I thought it would be best ta cover all of my bases. Speakin' of that though, Sera-han an' I will be goin' ta check out the home of the fourth victim today."

"Eh? So soon?" Kazuha asked, blinking a little. Given what had happened yesterday, she was surprised that Jodie was letting them go at all. "That's the one they thought was the culprit the first time around, right? Does Jodie-sensei know about this?"

"Of course she does, _idiot_. She's the one with the address, after all." Heiji said simply, before heaving a long sigh. In the end, he hadn't needed to use hypnosis to get it from her- although convincing her that they would be fine if they went alone hadn't been that easy. In the end, she had given her permission, and had handed over the address. "It's from Amelia-han's murder that this case got really complicated, I've already figured out that much. It would be better if we could look over the scene of the actual murder, but seein' as they tore down that hotel ages ago, that's pretty much impossible. Their old house is the next best thing."

"Then, I'll come with you!" Kazuha said.

"No, yer gonna stay here." Heiji told her firmly, shaking his head. " _With_ Jodie-han. Don't try goin' off on yer own ta do anythin' foolish!"

"Yer the last person I want ta hear somethin' like that from, Heiji." Kazuha couldn't help but note, quirking a brow. Heaving a sigh after a moment, she gave him a slight smile. "Well, fine. If yer _that_ worried about me, I'll stay put an' be a good girl fer one afternoon."

"Thanks, Kazuha." Heiji told her, leaning down to give her a quick peck on the forehead, flashing a broad grin at the slight red tint her cheeks took on. "When all of this is over, I'll take ya someplace nice when we get back ta Japan. Considerin' how our _last_ amusement park date turned out, maybe we could try again?"

"Yer just sayin' that ta try an' flatter me." Putting her hands on her hips, Kazuha stared at him square in the face, her hard look remaining for only the span of a second, before she broke out into a smile of her own. "An' it's workin', too. But at the expense of soundin' like a broken record-"

"I know, I know. Be careful, right?" Heiji asked. "Of course I will, _idiot_. It's not like I'm goin' by myself, either. Sera-han will be with me. We can watch each others backs."

"An' what if ya _do_ find somethin'?" Kazuha asked after a moment. "Somethin' that ya can't explain by regular logic."

"Well, Sera-han's _already_ been attacked by some kind of invisible being, so I think she's probably startin' ta think about this case as bein' somethin' other than normal." Heiji said simply, shrugging his shoulders. Which was both good and _bad_ for him, really. "Besides, people have a tendency ta believe in what they can see with their own two eyes, even if they think it's absurd."

"Well, that's true." Kazuha said, nodding her head. "I'll call ya if anythin' important comes up over here, Heiji. If ya learn anythin' over there, be sure ta give me a call too! I can't help but be curious about this case myself now."

"Yeah, I will." Heiji told her, reaching out to pat her hand, letting out a slight laugh as she made a face at the way he messed up her hair. "An' since ya were so worried about it," he began, crossing the room to scoop up the bag where he had hidden his sword. "I'll even bring this with me. Okay?"

"Good." With a firm nod of her head, Kazuha beamed brightly at him. "Now then, let's get ya downstairs so ya can at least _pretend_ ta nibble at breakfast. An' it's no use givin' me that look, Heiji! After that strange package ya got an' yer faintin' act ya did back there, yer gonna have ta try a little bit harder ta act human." She told him firmly, sternly locking eyes with him. "Really, it's a miracle that the _whole world_ doesn't know yer a vampire yet, seein' as yer so bad at coverin' it up!"

"I'm not _that_ bad, _idiot_!" Heaving a long sigh as Kazuha merely stuck out her tongue at him, he set aside the sword bag for the moment, following her out the door.

If there was one thing that was bothering him still about his earlier conversation with Jodie, it was the fact that she almost seemed to _hesitate_ to call Amelia Hayden's daughter for permission to do another search of her childhood home. Judging from the look in her eyes, he got the feeling that she didn't quite understand the reason for her own hesitation either, probably acting out of some kind of subconscious hunch. And given the way that she had gone out of her way to prevent the three of them from actually meeting the woman... there was definitely something there.

Just like he was almost entirely certain that Bradford Wise had some kind of connection to the case, he was almost entirely certain that Caroline Hayden had some kind of connection of her own. And whatever that connection was, he was going to find out.

Even though in the back of his mind, a faint, rather grim idea was already slowly starting to take shape.

* * *

"Eh? The daughter?"

"That's correct." Setting down his teacup, Okiya Subaru glanced over towards his visitor, a rather understanding expression on his face. Given the age of the daughter in question at the time, it was no wonder why the look that had crossed the boy's face was one of disbelief. "After the murder of Amelia Hayden, the first person I suspected was her daughter."

"But she was only seventeen at the time, wasn't she?" Conan asked, his brows knitting together in thought. Just as he had promised Heiji, he had sought out Okiya Subaru- formerly known as FBI agent Akai Shuichi, about the cast the very next morning. And while it certainly was someone as young as himself to commit murder, it wasn't that _common_ \- and besides that... "And she would have been even younger when the first three murders occurred. Still a middle school student, I believe."

"That's right. That's why I decided against voicing the theory until I had some more decisive evidence." Subaru said simply, his brows furrowing together as he recalled that case. It had been such a long time since he had dealt with it last, and he had been so focused on the Organization investigation since then that it had nearly slipped his mind. He couldn't deny his surprise when he heard the case being brought up by none other than the curious child sitting across from him. "Before I could look into the matter further, I was transferred to the investigation of the Organization, in order to infiltrate them. In the span of time before the fourth painting was sent in, people seemed to be under the assumption that it might be the last of them, so the urgency in regards to that case dropped significantly."

"Then did you suspect her for the first three murders too?" Conan asked. A high school student might have been a possibility, but a thirteen year old middle school student? That was way too unlikely.

"No, I don't think she was directly involved with those." Subaru told him, shaking his head. "I still hold the belief that her mother was the culprit for those first three. That said, as for her motive, I could never figure that much out. You said your friend is investigating the new cases right now?"

"Yeah, he is." Conan said, nodding his head. "I wanted to try and help him out however I could, since I couldn't go with him. He seems to be having a bit of trouble with it."

If he wanted to inquire further as to what a Japanese detective, and a _high school student_ at that, was doing investigating a case overseas, far away from home, he kept such things well to himself. If there was one thing that he had learned about this boy's friends in the short time he had been living here, it was that they could be rather _unusual_.

"Hey, did anything happen when you were investigating the case before?" Conan asked, a slight frown on his face. Heiji seemed to have brushed aside the danger like it was nothing, but he couldn't help but worry about him. And Kazuha too, as well, of course. He got the feeling that there was something that his friend was leaving out, and he was half tempted to try and contact Kazuha to pry that information out of her. "Like anyone being attacked, or anything like that?"

"I don't believe anyone was attacked, but there _was_ an incident at the site of the second murder." Subaru recalled. "If I recall, a police officer fell to his death. The investigation afterwards ruled it as a simple accident, though. The area where the corpse was found was quite rocky, and it was believed that he took a bad step that resulted in his death. There were no obvious signs of anyone else entering the area, nor anything in the surroundings being tampered with."

"The second murder... that was the painting entitled The Final Full Moon, wasn't it?" Conan recalled, a slight frown crossing his face. Although the setting for that painting, according to the image that Heiji had sent him, had been a rocky cliff face, something told him that accident wasn't an accident at all. If it was _that thing_ , that invisible force or whatever that had both killed Madeline Craven, and had attacked that other high school detective working with him, then it would make sense.

Whatever the case, this was something that he needed to inform Heiji about as soon as he could. He really had gotten himself involved with one pain in the ass case, hadn't he?

"That's right. It was a rather grim scene." With a slightly stern look, he brought up the image as if he had only seen it yesterday. "They all were, really. You should probably tell your friend to be careful, if you haven't already, boy. The one thing I know for sure is that the person behind these crimes is willing to do pretty much anything."

"Do you still suspect the daughter? Caroline Hayden, you said her name was. She would be around twenty-five years old right now, I believe." Conan asked. "What made you suspect something about her in the first place, Subaru-san?"

Putting a hand to his chin, he dwelled over the question for a moment, trying to recall the exact reason. All he had known at the time was that there had been something bothering him about the girl, right after her mother's death. In the end, he had never quite been able to place what it was, but he didn't doubt that there had been something there. He wasn't the type to doubt his own instincts, even if they told him things that skirted out the near absurd.

"If I recall correctly, I got the feeling that there was something _different_ about her." Subaru told him, narrowing his eyes. "I had spoken to her once before, when we first began investigating her mother as a possible suspect. Between that time and the time after her mother's death, it felt as if something had changed about her."

"Changed? How?" Conan blinked. In the back of his mind, there was a niggling feeling, a vague theory starting to fall into place with this information. The prime suspect becoming a victim themselves. The consistent painting style. The eight year gap between the fourth and fifth cases. Changed behavior. A culprit willing to do anything. The fact that the daughter was the only one on that list who hadn't been targeted so far. And Heiji's theory that there was somehow magic involved in this case.

Honestly, he was going to gave Heiji an earful when he came back, for making him start to think this way. But he when he factored in the fact that this was a case where otherwise absurd things could happen, then he couldn't deny that this theory made a certain amount of sense.

But, if that really were true, if such an absurd thing were really possible... what a horrible thing to do.

"I'm afraid that it's not something I am quite able to put into words." Subaru said simply after a long moment. "All I knew that was when I spoke to her after her mother's murder, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off compared to before. That was why I began to suspect that she might have some kind of connection to her mother's murder, at the very least."

"If there's one thing I _do_ find curious," Subaru began, picking up his cellphone, quickly opening up the gallery website that he had found when he had begun looking into matters related to that serial murder case again. "...it's the fact that she runs this website at all. She and her mother got along well enough, but the fact that she didn't have any of her mother's talent created something of a rift between them there. She gave off the impression of trying to distance herself from her mother's art."

"It could simply be out of memory of her mother, or that she's had time to deal with her previously unresolved issues, but something about it doesn't quite sit right with me." He finished, a considering look on his face as he leaned back in his chair, watching Conan go through the virtual gallery.

"Hmm." With a considering look on his face, Conan carefully paged through the website. He could see why Amelia Hayden had caught the FBI's interest, all those years ago- even to his own untrained eye, the style of the paintings, especially when they depicted people, were rather similar. "That's definitely a bit strange."

Passing his phone back to him, and getting to his feet, Conan gave him a quick smile. There was _no way_ he was going to share this theory with Subaru- he didn't even want to let anyone know that something like this had popped into his mind in the first place. Aside from Heiji, that was- if he wasn't already starting to suspect something like this himself- and in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but think that some damn part of him _better_ be. What he wouldn't give to go back to being blissfully ignorant of the supernatural.

Especially because being blissfully ignorant of the supernatural likely also meant that Heiji would still be _human_.

"Then, thank you, Subaru-san. I'll pass on what you told me to Heiji-niichan!" Conan told him finally.

"I can only apologize for not being more helpful." Even as he said that, Subaru didn't miss that glint in his eyes- although he couldn't help but puzzle at the rather disgruntled look that came along with it this time, as if he were almost _annoyed_ by the idea that had entered his head. Still, he seemed to have gotten _something_ of use from what it was that he had told him.

"No, you've been plenty helpful!"

* * *

"Still you sure do know a lot of people, Hattori-kun." Sera couldn't help but observe, waving a hand back towards the helicopter pilot who had so graciously agreed to bring them out here. Even if he had said that he had some friends here who could make it happen, actually seeing it in action was another thing entirely.

"Ah, well, when ya have parents like mine, ya tend ta know a lot of people, all over the place." Heiji said quickly, scratching his cheek a little. That vampire network was proving to be rather useful, as it turned out- it was kind of too bad that there wasn't really anything like that in Osaka. He was pretty sure almost all of the vampires that had been living in the city had moved away after that vampire hunter incident. Other than himself, of course.

Still, he couldn't help but feel like it had taken too much time to get here. Travel time couldn't be helped, he supposed, but he couldn't help but want to finish this up as quickly as he could. He couldn't help but be nervous about leaving Kazuha behind like this. Maybe he really should have had her come with him after all?

No, no. Chances were higher that something might happen over here, if his instincts were right, than back there. If that invisible _thing_ was responsible for the consecutive deaths of Amelia Hayden's three students, then it was obvious that it wasn't bound to human means of transportation, but could probably go wherever it would. He could only hope that their investigation here might give him some kind of clue as to what it was that they were dealing with here.

He was sure, at the very least, that thing wasn't the culprit. Given that it had given up on attacking Sera so easily when she had showed the smallest bit of ability to fight back, it probably didn't have much ability to think on it's own, if any at all. Something like a familiar, maybe? Were those even real?

Honestly- Kudo had half-jokingly called this his area of expertise, but there were still too many fields here that he was flying blind in. There were still too many things that he didn't know.

"Ah, I'll go in first." Heiji said, quickly darting in front of Sera. Sparing a brief glance back towards where the helicopter was waiting, he quickly refocused his attention on the house in front of him. Reaching out to take the doorknob, his brows knit together, feeling no response from it. That was good- that meant that he would be able to enter without issue. "Let's see, where did that girl say the key was..."

"It's here, Hattori-kun." Straightening up, Sera passed the key over towards him, the rock that she had pulled it out from underneath set back in place. She couldn't help but cast another curious glance up towards the bag he wore over his shoulder, once again wondering what it could be. Maybe it really was a sword? He _was_ a kendo champion, according to what she had read about him. "Do you think we'll find anything here?"

"It's worth a look." Heiji said simply, carefully unlocking the door. With a slight frown and a bit of a cautious step, he carefully made his way inside of the house, tucking the key back away in his pocket. There was no resistance to his entry- but once inside, he couldn't shake the strange feeling that seemed to overcome him all at once. It felt almost ominous, in a way.

"This place is covered in dust." Sera couldn't help but observe with a slight frown, letting out a cough. No wonder it felt a little hard to breathe. They might have been the only ones to step foot in this place for the past eight years. At least, that was her first thought- at least until her gaze drifted down towards her floor, her brows knitting together. That definitely wasn't right.

Although the furniture was covered in dust, the floor at least, was clean.

"Ya noticed it too, huh?" Heiji asked, casting a glance towards her. "Somethin' tells me this place has seen it's fair share of visitors since people stopped livin' in it."

That was strange- if there were people coming and going through the house, then it should have kept him out. Sure, Jodie had contacted the daughter for permission to come here, but she had only obtained it for herself- not directly for him. If that was the case, then why?

"That's definitely odd." Sera said, taking a few steps forward. The way the floor creaked underneath her feet almost made it feel like a haunted house. The fact that what furniture remained was draped in white sheets didn't really help matters, nor did the cobwebs that she carefully had to duck to avoid almost every time she turned a corner. "This place gives me a weird feeling."

"You too?" Heiji asked, more than a little surprised. "I've been feelin' like that ever since we came in here. I've been in long abandoned houses before, an' they've never really felt quite like this."

"Neither have the ones I've been in." Sera said, shaking her head. "Still, we came here to search this place. Where should we start?"

"Our victim's bedroom, of course." Heiji said, frowning as he took another step forward. Something about the sound the floor made underneath his feet almost didn't sound right- but he couldn't quite place the reason why. Judging from Sera, this was probably something he wouldn't have even noticed if he still had a normal range of hearing. "Well, even if I say that, I don't know where that is. Probably ta the back, given the overall layout of the place."

"Most likely." Sera said. "This feels like the kind of place a ghost would appear."

"Now which one of us is sayin' such unscientific stuff?" Heiji couldn't help but note, quirking a brow. Anything else he might have wanted to say was cut off by the sound of his cellphone, and he recognized the ring tone as being one that he had attached to Kudo's number. "Ah, sorry. I have ta take this call."

"Okay. I'll go on ahead and look in the back." Sera said, nodding her head. "Join me when you're done."

With a promise that he would, Heiji waited until he was certain she was out of earshot before he answered the phone. It had almost faded from his memory up until now, but she had seemed almost _unusually_ interested in Shinichi back when they had first met. "What's up, Kudo? Ya learn anythin'?"

"I wouldn't be calling you if I hadn't." Conan's dry tone was almost music to his ears, and he found himself grinning in response. "Did you know that there was an accident during the investigation of the scene of the second murder?"

"No, I hadn't heard about that." Heiji said, shaking his head. "Somethin' about yer tone tells me that ya think it wasn't an accident, though."

"Yeah. If it was caused by whatever it was that attacked that female detective you're working with, then it's probably no accident." Conan noted. "It was a police officer investigating the scene who died. It might be that he came a bit too close to noticing something the culprit wouldn't have wanted."

"I see. That would make sense." With a slight frown, Heiji cast his eyes over the empty living room, trying to envision what this place looked like when it was still full in life. He couldn't help but wonder if it had still felt this same way even back then- and if the feeling it had given off had simply faded from the memories of those who had come to investigate Amelia. "But that's not the only reason why yer callin' me, are ya?"

"No." Conan said, shaking his head, his brows furrowing together. "I learned something a bit strange though, Hattori."

"Strange?" Heiji asked, blinking a little. He didn't miss that slightly annoyed tone in Conan's voice- if he was starting to think the same thing he was, then he could kind of understand why it was there. "How strange we talkin' here, Kudo?"

"The person I spoke to said that he spoke with Caroline Hayden both before and after her mother's murder." Conan noted. "Although he couldn't put his finger on what it was, he couldn't help but notice that it almost felt like something was different about her the second time around. Something _off_ , he said."

"Off?" With a slight frown, Heiji took a few steps forward, ducking down in front of the fireplace, casting a curious glance up towards it. "Oi, Kudo, don't tell me that ya think-"

Just before he could finish that sentence, he could just faintly make out a strange sound- some kind of click, as if something had been triggered. A second later, a much larger sound followed it, one that nearly shook the whole house to it's foundations, almost causing him to lose his grip on his phone. Swearing underneath his breath, he strained his ears for any sound of Sera, even as the loud noise still rang out in them.

"Hattori-kun! I think you're going to want to see this!"

Letting out a slight breath of relief, Heiji brushed himself off a little- the vibration of the house had kicked up dust everywhere. It was a good thing he didn't need to breathe, or it would be clogging up his lungs right now. "Let me take a rain check on theory sharin' fer a second there, Kudo. Stay on the line though."

Slipping his cellphone back into his pocket without hanging it up, Heiji made his way towards where Sera was, faintly being able to make out the sound of her heartbeat past the ringing of his ears. "What did ya-"

He didn't even need to finish that question, really. For a moment, Heiji's mouth almost hung open, before he quickly closed it, hoping that Sera wouldn't notice him gaping like a fish. It was hard not to- he would have never expected something like a secret passage to be in a house like this. That might be why the sound of his footsteps seemed strange to them- if there was a space underneath the house, that would make them sound different from normal.

"That's definitely somethin' alright." Heiji noted with a slight blink, feeling the grip tighten on his sword bag. The house's ominous feeling- it was coming from that direction. In the back of his mind, some small part of him informed him that going down stairs like that was exactly what got people killed in horror movies- but they weren't at the liberty to abandon the investigation because of something like that.

Still...

"I'll check it out first." Heiji said, a tight frown on his face. "There's a chance that the entrance might seal up after we go down there, after all. I wouldn't want ta be trapped underground in a place like this."

"I can't really say that I blame you." Sera couldn't help but agree, even as she cast a rather considering look towards the Osakan detective. There it was again- that feeling that he knew something more than he was letting on. "Okay. I'll watch the entrance, and make sure to open it again in the event that it does close. But will you be alright down there, Hattori-kun? It doesn't seem like there's any lights."

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I've got a flashlight in here." Heiji noted, patting his bag. That was a total lie, of course. He didn't need something like that to see in the dark. "I'll make sure ta take pictures as well. It seems like comin' here was worth it."

"I'll say." Sera said simply, a slight smile surfacing on her face.

With a nod, Heiji carefully made his way down the staircase, one hand reaching back into his pocket to pull out his cellphone, the other hand resting on the strap of his bag. "Ya believe it, Kudo. There's a secret passageway underneath the floor of the fourth victim's house."

"The would-be culprit, right?" Conan asked. "And, according to what I just overheard, you're going down there by yourself. You really never learn, Hattori."

"Don't give me that tone. It really would be a problem if the entrance closed underneath us." Heiji noted, his eyes narrowing slightly as he made out the faint sound of static. "It sounds like I'm losin' my connection with ya, Kudo, but let me say this first before that happens."

Coming to the end of the staircase, gaze fixed on the room that stretched out before him, Heiji's eyes narrowed. Coming here really _was_ worth it.

"About that theory of yers- I'm pretty sure that you an' I are on the exact same page."


	11. An Unspeakable Thing

**AN** : Sorry for the wait, but here's chapter eleven! Well? Didn't I say that things would really heat up from this point on? I hope everyone looks forward to it! I know I am! As always, I want to thank everyone for reading, especially those of you who have left reviews for me!

Until next time!

* * *

 **Bloodsport**

 **Chapter Eleven**

 **An Unspeakable Thing**

* * *

 _"About that theory of yers- I'm pretty sure that you an' I are on the exact same page."_

He wasn't able to hear what it was that Conan had to say in response to that- because just afterwards, the line that had been threatening to drop finally cut out. Considering how deep he had gone underground, that was to be expected. He'd have to remember to give him a call later, otherwise he was certain that his friend would worry about him.

In the meantime...

"Oi, Sera-han!" Turning on his heel, Heiji called up the stairs. "It looks like the passageway isn't goin' ta close on us, so why don't ya come down here? There's some things that ya might wanna see!"

For a brief moment, he wondered if she had heard him- before he faintly made out the sound of her reply. Making out the sound of her footsteps heading down the stairs, steadily growing louder, Heiji turned back on his heel once more, facing the room in front of him. In the back of his mind, he could almost see the triumphant look on Kazuha's face when she told him that her theory was most likely right- because what possible explanation could there be for this kind of set up other than witchcraft?

Granted, he didn't know all that much about witches, and what he did know- green skin and flying brooms- probably wasn't even anywhere near the real picture. Taking a few steps forward, Heiji's eyes scanned the darkened room, not needing any light source to take in what he could only describe as the sight of some kind of strange ritual. There was even a magic circle in the middle of the floor- one that he mentally noted that it would probably be for the best if he avoided stepping on it.

Frankly, the place gave him the creeps. Some creature of the night _he_ was.

At the very least, he wasn't alone- she might let it be that obvious on the outside, but judging from the way the sound of her heartbeat changed upon entering the hidden room, it was clear that Sera pretty much shared his sentiments. Turning around again to face her, Heiji gave her something of a helpless shrug of his shoulders, wincing a little as the light of her flashlight shone a bit too bright in his eyes.

"Ya see? The kind of thing ya really need ta see fer yerself ta believe, isn't it?" Heiji asked.

"You could say that again." Sera noted. She was torn between regretting only having her penlight with her- and half being grateful for it. She really couldn't make up her mind if this place would be better or worse in better lighting. Briefly though, she couldn't help but recall Heiji's claims of having a flashlight with him- and yet, he didn't have anything of that sort in his hands.

Had that been a lie? But why lie about something like that? And in the first place, if it really was a lie, how exactly had he been able to see anything down here in the first place?

Putting aside such questions for the moment, Sera instead shone her flashlight on the floor, eyes narrowing as she took in what she was pretty certain was some kind of magic circle. The substance it had been drawn in... she was almost certain that was blood, though she couldn't say for sure what kind of blood it was. It had long since dried, though. "I'm not even sure how we'll report something like this to Jodie. It feels like I just stepped into a horror movie."

"Aw, c'mon now, Sera-han." Unable to help himself, a hint of a grin worked it's way onto Heiji's face. "We're chasin' a mysterious serial killer, one who paints supernatural portraits based off the scenes they create with their victims, an' yer only just _now_ thinkin' we're in a horror movie?"

"A fair point." Sera noted, quirking a brow. "In that case, which of us is the detective that ends up getting ahead of themselves, and gets murdered for their troubles? No offense, Hattori-kun, but I'd rather not have it be me."

"Well, if ya think about it, that's already happened." Heiji noted. He had already been technically murdered- nearly half a year ago, at this point. "Ya know, with the sixth victim."

"I suppose that's true." Sera noted, taking a step forward, continuing to shine her penlight around the room. "At the very least, we should take some pictures of this place. I think it's safe to say that judging from this, even if she wasn't involved with the serial murders, Amelia Hayden was probably guilty of _something_."

"Unfortunately, I don't think they can arrest ya fer havin' lousy taste in interior decorating." Heiji quipped. "But yer right, we should probably take pictures of this place. Otherwise I'm not sure Jodie-han will actually believe us."

Well, exposing the two of them to this much should probably be fine- just because there was a ritual set up here, didn't mean that they would instantly be lead to believe that whatever had been done down here had actually _worked_. "I'm not sure that I believe it myself, an' I'm standin' right in the middle of it."

Besides, the secret he was working to keep was his _own_ \- if they happened to realize that perhaps there was some kind of supernatural element to this case that they couldn't deny, that wasn't entirely his problem. Just so long as it didn't get any of them in danger- he couldn't exactly put one of Kudo's allies when it came to that shady Organization of his in any danger. And as for Sera... well, he was starting to come to like her, really. Suspicions and all.

"Then, I'll leave the photography to you, Hattori-kun." Sera told him, casting a glance back his way. "I'll provide you with some lighting."

"Sounds like a plan." With a quick nod of his head, Heiji briefly recalled the lie that he had told her earlier, dimly realizing that she must have recognized it for one. To be fair, while he had been expecting to find something of importance down here, a room that looked as if it had unmistakably been used for some kind of weird black magic ritual was not chief among them.

Perhaps, in retrospect, it should have been. Because vampire or not, he was still relatively new to all of this- and while he had been doing a pretty good job of it, there were still places in which he hadn't yet begun to readjust his way of thinking about the world.

Using the cellphone that was still in his hand, Heiji switched it into camera mode. It was probably for the best that he was the one taking the pictures anyways- if Sera hadn't asked him to, he would have offered. There would be problems should she notice that there were shots he should have been in, that he was suspiciously absent from. Quickly setting to work snapping photos of the place, he made sure to get in as much of the strange room as he possibly could.

"Still, what do ya think they used this place fer?" Heiji found himself asking, carefully sidestepping the magic circle on the floor to get a few more pictures.

"Obviously nothing good." Sera noted, crouching down in front of the very same magic circle that he had just avoided. Carefully placing her finger on the edge of it, she frowned a little, rubbing her fingers together. "If I don't miss my guess, this is blood. Dried, though, for some time now at that."

"Might be animal blood." Heiji noted. It was for the best that it was dried up- that much blood on the floor would have definitely evoked a reaction from him. In that state though, even he wouldn't be able to tell what it had once belonged to. "Wasn't there animal blood found in the cups at the scene of the first murder?"

"Goat blood, if I recall." Sera noted. "Quite a bit of it."

"Charmin'." Heiji quipped, finishing taking the photographs. Switching his phone out of camera mode and tucking it back away in his pocket, he turned back towards Sera. "If that's all, I think we should probably wrap things up here. This place is givin' me the creeps."

"Honestly, I can't really blame you." Sera noted, shrugging her shoulders. Normally she would be all for pushing past such a feeling and investigating until she had exhausted every inch of the place- but the memory of her own encounter with that invisible thing was still rather fresh in her mind. She'd prefer not to encounter something like that again, not in a place as dark as this.

"Then, let's go. The faster we can get this information back ta Jodie-han, the better." Heiji told her, already heading towards the staircase. "Seems like she probably has a few new questions ta ask that Caroline girl. Seventeen might be pretty young to be carryin' out serial murders, but it's plenty old ta know if yer old lady was up ta somethin' mighty fishy."

"Probably with those four." Sera noted, following behind him, carefully shining her penlight in front of her. The room was so dark, she couldn't even make out where the first step was. "That's probably the real meaning of the list that the sixth victim left behind."

"Yeah." Tucking his hands into his pockets, Heiji's brows furrowed together. "An' judgin' from the fact that Caroline-han's name is on that same list as well, I get the feelin' that she's not as innocent as she seems ta be. I don't know about the murders before now, but there's no way that she's not involved with the two recent ones- an' probably pretty directly, at that."

And if his theory wasn't wrong- the very same theory that he shared with Kudo- it might very well be the case that she was behind the first four murders as well. Or at the very least, one half of her was- the other, perhaps, was no longer in this world. If that really was the case, then it was a truly unspeakable thing that her mother had done- and for that, he couldn't forgive her.

He'd never have any way of proving it. He'd have to live with that, though. As long as someone managed to put a stop to these murders, then that was what mattered the most. He still didn't understand what her motive might be- but whatever it was, now that he knew the person who was likely the real suspect, it might not even matter anymore at this point. Perhaps the motive too, was something that he would never be able to explain to human ears.

As such thoughts crossed his mind, he found his steps halting, a cold chill traveling up his spine. That in itself was rather unusual- considering his body temperature was that of a corpse's, he didn't really feel the bite of cold air any longer. Eyes snapping fully upwards as he sensed that Sera's footsteps had ceased behind him as well, his gaze quickly fixed on the specter that seemed to loom before him.

Perhaps it was because he himself was already dead, that he could sense at once that this had at one point, been a living thing. Human, probably, at some point. Though he heard the pace of Sera's heartbeat quicken slightly, he didn't think that she was seeing the same thing he was- if she was seeing anything at all, that was.

An invisible man, he had jokingly called the apparition that had attacked her, that had pushed Madeline Craven to her death. He never doubted her claims for a second- but it would appear that his joke had rather missed the mark, and by quite a bit. What was before him was no invisible man, for even his eyes most likely wouldn't be able to see such a thing- but probably something much _worse_.

He'd come to begrudgingly accept it- the fact that ghosts really existed in this world. But this was no ghost- no simple shade of a person that had once lived, unaware that they were no longer a part of this world.

Not only did this one know, but it almost appeared as if it were chained to this world by something. At least, that was the only reason he could think of for the chains that were entwined around it's wrists and ankles, trailing off ephemerally once they reached a certain point. Right away, he got the feeling that there would be no reasoning with this one.

"Hattori-kun." Though she spoke in a whisper, it was easy to make out the sound of Sera's voice. There was plenty of tension in it- though no fear. "Do you feel that?"

"I don't just _feel_ it." Heiji muttered underneath his breath, his eyes narrowing as he took half a step back, one hand straying to the case he had slung over his arm. Would this thing even work on something like this? No, it should. If this was the same thing that had attacked Sera, then there was no reason to think that it wouldn't work. Still, that said, he'd rather not deal with this with her around- if he suddenly pulled out a sword and started swinging, he could only imagine what her reaction would be.

"Don't just-" Narrowing her eyes, Sera took a step forward even as Heiji took a step back. His gaze was squarely fixed on something, his body language tense- but what was it? What was he looking at? "Can you actually see something, Hattori-kun?"

"Yeah, unfortunately. Ya can't?" Casting a brief glance back towards her, a trace of a grin surfaced on his face. He hadn't been aware that he had said that much aloud, but perhaps that was for the best- he didn't think this thing had orders to let them out of here alive. For the moment, it was simply hovering there- but this pressure that he felt from it... he couldn't mistake that for anything but bloodlust. Probably the moment they approached it, it would attack.

Strangely, it felt almost as if this wasn't the first time he had seen the apparition before- there was something almost vaguely familiar about the young woman that had manifested before him. Of course, he didn't think she had such a haunting appearance to her the last time he had seen her- that was definitely new. From where that would have been, he didn't quite know at the moment- but in the back of his mind, he had a vague idea.

"If there's really something there, I can't see a thing." Sera confessed. "There's something weird about this case after all, isn't there?"

"So it would seem." Through gritted teeth, Heiji gauged his options. There were two of them, and only one of it- and it was possible that he might be it's main target. "Do ya trust me, Sera-han?"

"Vaguely." Sera noted, unable to help herself. "Enough to know that you're probably not pulling my leg, considering you were willing to hear out my story earlier."

"Vaguely works." Heiji said, reaching one hand to unzip the very top of the case. "I'm gonna count ta three. When I hit that, get ta the side of the staircase an' run up them as fast as ya can. Ya should probably concentrate on gettin' back ta the helicopter, so ya can tell the pilot ta get ready ta leave."

"Running away, huh?" She couldn't help but frown at that idea- but even she had to admit that not being able to see her opponent put her at a stark disadvantage. This pressure that she was feeling- she had recognized it at once as the same one she had felt back then. She could feel the bruises that encircled her neck almost throbbing in response. "Can't say that I like it."

"Ya got any better plans?" Heiji noted, quirking a brow.

"Not at the moment, no." Sera said simply. Briefly, she couldn't help but wonder what it was that Heiji was seeing that she couldn't- enough to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Still, strangely enough, he didn't seem to be surprised- almost as if he had been expecting to come across something like this. It was true that he was fully aware of her encounter with her invisible assailant, but something was still off there.

Whatever it was that he was hiding, it may have very well been more tied to this case than she could have guessed. She would have plenty of questions for him when they got out of here- but until then, she would put those on hold.

"Then we'll stick with mine. Sorry that yer Jeet Kun Do doesn't get a chance ta shine right now." Heiji quipped, in spite of the situation. "Maybe next time."

"Look forward to it. You'll be quite surprised, I think." Sera shot right back. Carefully edging her way to the side of the staircase, feeling the wall with one hand, her other tightly gripping her penlight. "Okay. Let's run."

With a curt nod, Heiji fixed his full attention towards the specter before him, carefully pulling the handle of his sword from within the case. "One." In the darkened staircase that seemed to stretch forward forever, his voice echoed, though he didn't quite want it to. "Two."

In spite of not needing to, he drew in a breath anyways, bracing himself for anything.

" _Three_!"

Though it was only for a moment, as Sera broke into a spring on the count of three, she could have sworn that she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye, just as she pushed past the heavy presence in the air. What that something was, she couldn't define, and it might very well simply be a trick of the light- or it would have been, if the only light in the area wasn't coming from her small penlight.

Skidding to a halt at the top of the hidden entrance, Sera cast a glance back down where she had just been. Within the pitch black darkness that the stairs extended into, she couldn't make out anything- though she could faintly make out the sound of something metallic striking stone. Through gritted teeth, she briefly considered going back, not being fond of the idea of essentially abandoning someone- but she got the strange feeling that Heiji was far more well equipped than she was when it came to dealing with whatever it was that was down there.

It appeared as if she had stumbled into one hell of a case. Somehow, she got the feeling that her older brother had no idea that there was something like this down here- she still wasn't sure she half believed it herself. Even so, she knew what her eyes had seen- and what they hadn't seen, for that matter. It would do no good to go into denial about it at this point.

For now, her job was to return to the helicopter, and to tell the pilot to get ready to take off. She had trust that Heiji would be following behind her shortly. Judging from the cold air that seemed to be clinging to the inside of the house now, when it hadn't been there before, it probably was for the best that they get away from here as fast as possible.

Even if she didn't quite know what it was that she was running from.

* * *

"Is everything alright, Kazuha-chan?"

"Ah, yeah." Slowly nodding her head, Kazuha took in and let out a breath, a hint of a frown lingering behind. "Sorry about that, Ran-chan. I just got a bit of a chill all of a sudden."

"No, it's okay. You don't have to apologize to me over something like that." Ran told her. "But that's strange. I thought it was supposed to be really warm where you are right now."

"It is. A bit _too_ warm, if anythin'." Kazuha told her, her brows furrowing together. Even within the confines of her hotel room, that much was true- so what had that been? All of a sudden, she had been overcome by an ominous feeling- but then it had been gone, almost as if it had never been there in the first place. It must have lasted a bit longer than she had first thought, if she had Ran worried about her, and frankly, she didn't have a good feeling about it.

"Maybe I'm just worried about Heiji?" Kazuha ventured after a moment, turning on her heel and making her way towards the window. "He's out with that female detective I told ya about, lookin' into somethin' far away. I can't help but worry about him, ya know."

"Well, I couldn't say that I blame you." Ran replied. "I worry about Shinichi the same way. But well, at least you know what Hattori-kun is doing right now, right?"

"That's right." Kazuha said, nodding her head, a hint of a smile crossing her face. "That's true. Honestly, that Kudo-kun! When he finally gets back home, I'm goin' ta make sure I give him a proper talkin' ta, fer yer sake, Ran-chan! Runnin' off on such a cute girl like that, he's a shame ta men everywhere!"

"I wouldn't go that far." Unable to help herself, a small laugh escaped from Ran. "But thank you, Kazuha-chan."

"It's too bad that ya couldn't get any answers from Heiji about where Kudo-kun is, though." Kazuha said after a moment. "Since he seems ta know about ya know... _that_. I don't think that's somethin' that he could prove to him without actually meetin' him in person, so they must have met up with each other at some point durin' these past six months, but..."

"He obviously knew _something_ , but wasn't telling me about it." Ran huffed slightly- it was almost too easy for Kazuha to picture what kind of expression she wore, even over the phone. "But well, I suppose it can't be helped. The situation back then wasn't the best to be asking Hattori-kun questions under, since he had his own troubles to worry about. How is doing, by the way? There haven't been any side effects from that flower, have there?"

"Not that I can tell." Kazuha said, shaking her head even though she knew her friend couldn't see her. "Given what kind of case this has shaped up ta be, that's fer the best, really." Heaving a long sigh, Kazuha twitched back the curtains of her window, gazing out at the street below. "I almost _miss_ the fake supernatural cases that he used ta run into all the time."

"Frankly, I'm amazed that you can put up with it." Ran admitted after a moment. "If it were me, I might have a bit of trouble. Though I suppose if it were for Shinichi's sake, I could probably manage."

"Well, ya know how it is." Closing the curtains, Kazuha turned back around on her heel, her smile growing. "I can't leave that guy on his own. Who knows what kind of trouble he'd get himself into without me around? What a bothersome guy he is, that high school detective of mine!"

"Really. That type's nothing but trouble." Ran noted, not trying to conceal the note of fondness her words carried. "Hopefully Shinichi won't decide that he needs to follow suit."

"Let's hope not. One vampire detective is more than enough." Kazuha told her, letting out a small laugh. As she did so, a small sound at the door caught her attention, and she frowned. "Ah, Ran-chan? I'm goin' ta have ta let ya go. Someone's at the door. It's probably Jodie-sensei."

"Alright. Then, I'll talk to you later, Kazuha-chan." Ran told her. "Take care, okay? I won't to hear about everything when you get back to Japan. Make sure you bring Hattori-kun with you too, when you visit the agency!"

"I will. He'll be wantin' ta visit Conan-kun himself too, so that'll probably be easy." Kazuha told her. "Well then, later, Ran-chan."

Hanging up her cellphone, Kazuha set it aside on her desk. Hearing the sound of knocking at her door again, she turned on her heel, heading that way. "Yes, yes, I'm comin'!"

Perhaps Jodie had gotten word from either Heiji or Sera- that would be a relief for her, frankly. The fact that he had taken that sword with him was a small bit of comfort for her, but vampire or no, she couldn't help but worry about him. Just because he was already dead didn't mean that he couldn't die- that much had been proven all too clear back during the vampire hunter case.

The sight of him half blind and missing one arm... certainly it was an image that paled in comparison to what that flower's scent had done to him, but nevertheless, it was one that haunted her all the same. It had been close- _far_ too close. If his father hadn't shown up when he had... she didn't even want to think about what might have happened then.

Pausing outside the door, she frowned a little, peeking through the peephole. It was probably Jodie, but it would always be best to check just to make sure, given what they might be dealing with here. At least, that was her first thought- but when she peered through, nevermind Jodie, she actually couldn't see _anyone_ on the other side of the door. For a brief moment, she wondered if it were perhaps some kind of prank, or perhaps someone had simply realized that they had gotten the wrong room, but...

Just as she thought that, another knock sounded against her door- even though there was still no one there.

Jumping away from the door, Kazuha felt her heart lurch in her chest. Suddenly, Sera's earlier words came back to her- about her invisible assailant, about how she was convinced that Madeline Craven had somehow been pushed to her death. It couldn't possibly be...?

Turning on her heel, Kazuha hurried to make for the cellphone that she had left behind on her desk- but no sooner than she did, did she feel the strange sensation of the world almost dancing around her. Dimly, she became aware of a strange aroma clinging to her nose, an overpowering scent that drowned out her consciousness. Biting on her lip, she fought to stay awake, but it was no avail- it wasn't nearly enough.

Out of the corner of her eye, just as she collapsed, she thought she could faintly make out the sight of the door to her room opening up- and someone's very visible foot stepping inside the room.

It was the last thing she knew, before there was only black.

* * *

Just as he thought, that thing's main target was him.

As soon as Sera started moving, so too, did he- charging straight towards the wraith-like apparition that loomed before him. Though it briefly cast it's attention, turning milky white eyes towards Sera as she closed in on it, it's attention was quickly taken by Heiji- and for a moment, it was all he could do to fight back the chill that it's howl sent down his spine. Howl, really, was the only word that he could think to describe it- an eerie sound that filled up the dark staircase, and one that he was almost certain was something that only he could hear.

In the back of his mind, even as he unsheathed his sword, the only thing he could think about was the fact that this thing would set Ran off something terrible. And quite honestly? He wouldn't be able to blame her.

As it lurched towards him, Heiji came to a halt, standing his ground as best he could on the uneven staircase. Really, this wasn't exactly the best place for a fight, even if he could see in the dark- especially not one that involved a sword- but beggars couldn't be choosers, he supposed. Still gripping the sheath in one hand, he fought off a note of relief as the specter's hands clashed against the blade itself, almost seeming to sizzle upon contact, causing it to recoil.

It might have been a sword designed to hunt his own kind, but it appeared that it was quite effective on other things as well. Unlike with Sera, though, this simple act of retaliation wasn't enough to make it back off- and that was probably for the best. It was best if he dealt with this thing here and now- whatever it might once have been, it was clear that it had long since left the land of the living, in a way that was very much unlike himself- he didn't think there was any coming back from this.

Familiar.

The word popped into his head as he dodged another strike from wraith-like apparition, not quite wanting to find out when something dead contacted with something dead. He didn't need to know any further details about what this thing was to know that it probably wouldn't be anything good- for him, not for it. Still, it would appear that he really would need to speak with that contact that Mitsuta had mentioned- the one who knew more than her about witchcraft.

If he had any lingering doubts after seeing that room, then they were largely cleared now- honestly, Kazuha really wasn't going to let that go. He'd give it to her thought- right from the beginning, she had probably been right. If the person who he suspected was the culprit really was behind these murders, then they were hundreds of miles away from them at the moment- and yet, this thing was still here.

There was no doubt that this thing had been behind the accidents of Madeline Craven's three remaining students. As for the fourth, the one who had been murdered before them, he couldn't say- it was possible that the culprit had done it themselves, though for what reason, he wasn't quite sure. Even if she wanted to go to the police about this, would they really believe what she might have to tell them?

Unless she had some kind of concrete proof- proof that had probably already long since been destroyed. Too bad, really- he could kind of use that proof himself right now. All that strange hidden room would be able to prove was that Amelia Hayden was definitely up to _something_ fishy- and not that she really had any direct connection to the serial murders after all.

He definitely wouldn't be able to prove what he now suspected to be true- that the _real_ Caroline Hayden was already dead.

For someone who had already murdered three people, sacrificing their daughter must have been simple. It wasn't the first time he had dealt with a criminal that had murdered someone that they shared blood with- but it was the first time anyone had ever gone this far. It was all the more reason to make sure that she was stopped this time- once and for all.

The real question was- how exactly did one stop someone who so easily escaped from their own death?

* * *

"There's a sword in there, isn't there?" It was after a long, awkward silence between the two of them, neither knowing quite what to say to the other, that Sera finally broke the silence. Quirking a brow, Sera cast her gaze at the case that Heiji had leaned against the seat next to him. "A real one, that is."

For a moment there, she had been worried about him- it almost seemed as if he were taking a bit too long to join up with her. Just as she had thought that, Heiji had finally emerged from inside of the house, whatever it was that he had taken out of his case back there securely tucked back away inside. However, judging from the faint metallic sound that she had made out back there, she could take a good guess at what it was.

"I have no idea what ya mean." Heiji remarked, quirking a brow. "In the first place, how would I be able ta bring somethin' like that into the country with me? Don't ya think they would have stopped me?"

"Not if you put it in your checked luggage." Sera remarked, shrugging her shoulders. "A rather dangerous thing to be carrying around though, Hattori-kun. Were you already expecting trouble on this case?"

"Well, considerin' the one who sent me-" His eyes briefly going wide, realizing that he had nearly said a bit too much, Heiji quickly shut his mouth, averting his eyes from Sera. If there was one thing that she didn't know, it was the fact that the person who had approached him with this case was none other than the very same woman who had nearly tried to kill him not four months ago- Okubo Karen.

Doing a favor for a convict, and one that he had helped to capture in the first place, would raise a fair amount of red flags- more than he was raising already. It wasn't enough to shout the truth to the skies, that he wasn't human, but it certainly made him look rather suspicious.

"The one who sent you?" Sera asked, tilting her head. "I thought you were here because you regretted that you couldn't prevent the murder of the first victim's niece. Are you saying someone sent you here?"

"Even if they did, it's none of yer business." Heiji noted, narrowing his eyes. "After all, ya haven't quite been forthcomin' about yer own reasons fer bein' here, Sera-han. I haven't been pokin' my nose in yer business, so ya should stay out of mine."

"I can't help it, when your business seems rather interesting." Sera told him, a hint of a smile crossing her face. "But that's fair, I suppose. I'm sure you can understand it though, Hattori-kun. After all, you're also a detective, right? If you see a mystery in front of you, don't you want to solve it?"

"There are some mysteries not meant ta be solved." Heiji simply said, folding his arms in front of his chest. "Mine's one of 'em."

"So you're admitting that you have one, in other words." At the glower that earned her, Sera merely shrugged her shoulders. How could she not be all the more curious after what had just happened? "There's no need to give me such a scary look. We're on the same team here, after all."

"Well, fer the moment, we are." Heiji noted, forcing out a long sigh. "One way or another, when we get back, we have ta find a way ta break down that old man's guard, get him ta answer a few questions fer us. I doubt the daughter is goin' ta be all that forthcomin' with what she knows."

"You suspect her?" Sera noted. "Well, I doubt she didn't know what was hidden just off her mother's room, but that's enough to say that she's involved. Nor Amelia Hayden, for that matter. There's no evidence."

"Then we'll just have ta find it." Heiji noted. "That's what detectives do, right? Find evidence? Either that, or I can get that old man ta squeal like a pig if I can just manage ta get a few minutes alone with him."

"How exactly do you plan on doing that?" Sera asked, arching her brows. "He was rather closemouthed when Jodie-san and I spoke with him. I doubt he's going to be that easy to break, all the more so if people are being killed for that much."

"I have my methods." Heiji told her. It wasn't a method that he liked to use, and if the situation were different, he'd find another way. But he couldn't help but be on edge after that close call- and for more reason than one.

Why hadn't Kazuha gotten back to him yet? Given how worried she had been about him when she had sent him off, one would think that she would have mailed him back right away. Even if she was eating something, or taking a shower, or something along those lines, it wouldn't take this long, would it? His message hadn't even been read yet.

It made him uneasy.

"Is something wrong?" Putting aside the other topic for the moment, Sera frowned. "This is the fifth time you've checked your phone. Expecting a call?"

"Somethin' like that." Heiji frowned. "I've been tryin' ta get into contact with Kazuha since we left, but haven't been able ta get a hold of her. Maybe she's out with Jodie-han?"

"Then, why don't you call Jodie-san and ask?" Sera offered, pulling out her cellphone. "I can try and contact Kazuha-chan from my own phone while you do that."

"Yeah, I'll do that." With a curt nod of his head, Heiji pulled up Jodie's number, grateful that he had thought to save it to his phone. Frowning a little as he listened to it ring, feeling his shoulders relax when he heard her pick it up. "Jodie-han? It's Heiji."

"Oh, Hattori-kun." Jodie noted. "What's wrong? Are you already on your back?"

"Yeah, I am." Heiji said, nodding his head, casting a glance over towards Sera, watching as a slight frown crossed her own features. Somehow, he didn't like the look of that. "More importantly, is Kazuha with ya? She hasn't been answerin' any of my messages, so I'm a little worried."

"Toyama-san? No, she's not with me." He could almost hear the frown in her voice, making out the faint sound of what seemed to be a chair being pushed away from a desk. "That's odd, though. I'll go check her room right now. Maybe she just fell asleep?"

"Thanks, Jodie-han. We should be back ta where ya are not too long from now." Heiji told her. Were it still able to beat, he doubtlessly would have heard his heart pounding heavily in his chest with every step Jodie took, as he made out the sounds of her leaving her own room, heading down the hall to the one he shared with Kazuha.

"That's strange... it's open."

It had been looming over him before- the feeling of dread- but with those words, it threatened to crash down over him, like a wave. It was the words that Jodie spoke next that did the trick- and for a moment, he felt as if he were frozen in the second that they had been spoken.

"She's not here."


	12. Watch How the Mermaid Princess Drowns

**AN** : Oh hey, here's the next chapter! Greetings from the depths of pollen hell! I hope everyone's getting through it okay, those of you who are in pollen season, same as me right now. As always, thanks for reading, and please leave a review if you can!

Until next time!

* * *

 **Bloodsport**

 **Chapter Twelve**

 **Watch How the Mermaid Princess Drowns**

* * *

It wasn't as if she couldn't understand how he was feeling right now- but at the very least, he should have let the helicopter actually _land_ before trying to leave it.

That was one hell of a jump that he just made- but somehow, given everything else she had seen today, she couldn't find it in herself to so much as even bat an eyelash at it. As for Jodie, on the other hand... well, it certainly seemed to surprise her a good bit more, especially as he shot past her, brushing off her attempts to check if he was okay.

She was asking about his physical well being, of course- there was no point in asking how well he was doing mentally. From the frantic expression on his face, the answer to that question was rather clear. It was understandable- as he was being confronted by some kind of invisible assailant, hundreds of miles away, something had happened to his childhood friend.

The odds that it was a coincidence were rather low.

By the time they caught up to him, Heiji had already made his way downstairs to the hotel room. Frantically scanning the room, for any trace of the culprit, or perhaps any message left behind by Kazuha, he was walking in circles, a deeply troubled expression on his face. They were faint, but he could still make them out- the scent of chloroform, and the scent of someone that he had never met.

Kazuha definitely hadn't left the room out of her own free will, that much was clear to him right away. But there was one other thing about the scene that was bothering him, yet he found himself unable to place. It was the vague sense that there was something that should be there, other than the room's occupant, that was missing.

Narrowing his eyes, Heiji turned on his heel back towards Sera and Jodie, glancing between the two before his gaze fixed on the latter. "I'm guessin' that ya already let the hotel staff know about this."

"That's right." Jodie said, slowly nodding her head, still somewhat shaking off the shock from his jump earlier. "Naturally, I checked the security footage for both this floor, and the lobby, but it would appear that our culprit managed to somehow cut themselves out of the footage. Thanks to that though, we can at least narrow down the time in which Toyama-san was kidnapped."

Kidnapped... Clenching his teeth at the mere thought of such a thing, Heiji couldn't help but blame himself. He should have never brought her along with him in the first place. If he hadn't, none of this would have ever happened. Even if she had been the one to insist in the first place, he should have tried harder to turn her down, to reject her offer.

Why hadn't he? He really was an idiot.

Likewise, he knew that there was no way that Kazuha would allow herself to get kidnapped by just anyone. But this wasn't just _anyone_ that they were dealing with here- if he was right, they were someone with great command over dark magics that he couldn't even begin to understand. As for what they wanted with Kazuha... well, it wasn't hard to guess.

The sixth painting had been sent.

It was time for the seventh victim.

Biting his lip to control the surge of anger that nearly threatened to overtake him at that thought, Heiji turned on his heel away from the pair. He couldn't afford to lose his temper right now, no matter how much he wanted to- because not only would he not be able to focus on saving Kazuha, but they might end up seeing some things that he didn't want them to say.

Though frankly, such a thought was almost at the back of his mind right now- he half wanted to tear the city apart, just to find Kazuha. If he put his mind to it, he was more than capable of doing so- but he got the feeling that if he did something like that, he'd cross a threshold that he would never be able to return from.

Kazuha wouldn't want that.

"Are you alright, Hattori-kun?" The sound of Sera's voice was close, so Heiji focused himself on calling back his fangs, which had elongated with his previous burst of anger. "I can understand what you're feeling right now, but there's a chance that Kazuha-chan might be still alive."

"Yeah, you're right." Heiji said slowly, forcing himself to draw in a breath, if only to stabilize himself. It seemed to help, for which he was grateful. "Did anyone see anythin' suspicious, Jodie-han?"

"We're still conducting interviews, but it would appear that no one did." Jodie told him, shaking her head. "Which is unusual in and of itself. This room is on the fifth floor, it's not as if they could escape through the window. Someone surely would have noticed an unconscious person being carried, but it would appear that no one saw anything."

"I see." Closing his eyes, Heiji drew in and let out another breath, forcing himself to get his feelings underneath control. Anger was a familiar companion to him- but something about this felt different. "I'm assuming that ya already sent someone out over towards that old man's place, right?"

"Of course." Jodie said. "He's claiming that he has no knowledge of anything. Of course, he refused us when we asked if we could search his home."

"Yeah, I'll bet he did." Heiji grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. His head was feeling a bit clearer now, thankfully. Casting another glance over the hotel room, his eyes narrowed in thought once more, trying to figure out what it was that he felt was missing from here.

It was the faint bit of purple that caught his eyes that drew his attention towards it. With a deep frown, Heiji stooped down by the desk, for a moment wondering what it might be- before it hit him in a wave. Both the answer to that question, and the answer to what was missing from the room.

Torn off and cast underneath the desk, was a familiar purple charm, one of a matching pair. Since it had been thrown away like this, whoever had taken what it was attached to must have not wanted to bring it with them. Given the faint trace of ash-like material that clung to one corner of it, he could make a solid guess as to why.

But now wasn't the time to be rejoicing over the apparent effectiveness of Kazuha's charm. It was meaningless if she didn't have it with her at the moment. Now was the time, however, to make a phone call- because if the culprit had taken Kazuha's phone with them, then they had taken it for a reason.

"Hattori-kun?" Jodie spoke up, watching as he tucked the charm away in his pocket, and pulled out his cellphone. "What is it? Did you figure something out?"

"Yeah." Heiji told her. "I think the culprit gave us a way ta contact them."

* * *

The first thing that she noticed as she came back to awareness was the feeling of something damp at her feet. The second thing was of course, the chains.

She'd grit her teeth if she could, were it not for the cloth stuck between them, preventing her from crying out. Even though her head was still swimming from the aftereffects of the drug, most likely chloroform, she realized, Kazuha still forced herself to focus on the situation at hand, digging up the last thing she remembered before she had wound up here.

That was right... she had been talking with Ran on the phone, when she had heard someone knock on the door. When she had checked to see who it was, nobody had been there- even though someone was still knocking, even as she looked. As for what had happened after that... it was still somewhat of a blur, but she remembered being forced to breathe in chloroform, as well as the sight of-

...someone's feet. It wasn't just the memory that sent a momentary chill down her spine, but rather, it was the sight of those very same feet before her, informing her that she wasn't alone here.

Wherever _here_ was.

"You woke up."

Narrowing her eyes, Kazuha clenched her fists, forcing herself to look up towards her captor. Given the way their voice seemed distorted, she doubted that they would show her their face- and on that, she was right. The mask that they were wearing to cover their face gave her the shivers, but she fought back such feelings, not wanting to show any signs of fear here. If she did that, then they would have won.

She just had to trust that Heiji would find her. The fact that she wasn't dead yet was probably a good sign- if the one who had captured her was the same culprit behind the serial murderers, at least. Not that she would just sit here like a good girl either- if she could find a way to escape, she would take it the second that she got the chance. But before that, she needed to take full stock of her surroundings and the situation that she was in, something which she hadn't gotten the chance to do yet.

Since she couldn't speak, Kazuha only narrowed her eyes further, glaring down her kidnapper. That they were using her to send a message to Heiji, of that she had very little doubt- and as much as she trusted him to find her, she couldn't help but worry about him being left on his own. For a brief moment, the only thing that filled her mind were Mitsuta's words- warning them that it wasn't impossible that there was a chance of a relapse.

For some reason, the thought frightened her more than whatever the culprit had planned for her. If she couldn't protect Heiji, who would?

"I suppose you can't speak." The culprit noted, tilting their head slightly. "You should be honored, really. I had a different offering in mind for my next piece, but I suppose you'll do just as well."

 _Offering_? That was one hell of a way to put _victim_ , Kazuha thought to herself. She'd proposed the idea of witchcraft to Heiji as a mere thought, what felt like ages ago now, but maybe she was closer to the truth than she had thought. Usually that would be enough to cause her to gloat- but given the current situation, she almost couldn't help but regret being right.

"That is, of course, unless your boyfriend manages to find you first." While Kazuha couldn't see the smile that spread out across their face, she could nevertheless sense it. As the sound of her own ringtone filled the room, she felt her fists tighten, pulled tight enough so that her nails bit into her skin. She must have stolen it from her room when she had kidnapped her, expecting that Heiji would notice it was missing, or else wise would try and contact her with it.

On top of everything else, they were planning to taunt Heiji- that was unforgivable!

Watching through narrowed eyes as the culprit answered her cellphone, Kazuha tried to work at the gag that kept her from speaking. She wasn't sure what good it would do, considering that she had no idea as to where she was- other than perhaps a basement somewhere, from the layout of the room. It wasn't much to go on, but at the very least, it was something.

She wasn't much for being the damsel in distress type, after all.

* * *

"I would assume this is Heiji Hattori."

Placing a finger against his lips to prevent either Sera or Jodie from speaking, Heiji narrowed his eyes at the sound of the voice on the other end of the line. From the sound of it, it had been altered by some kind of machine. Was the culprit not aware that he had already been able to figure out her identity? Or was she simply playing it safe as there were those involved who hadn't yet?

Whatever the case, he had to bite down on his tongue in order to prevent the new surge of anger that threatened to rush through him at the sound of her voice. If anything, his anger was what the culprit wanted, if she had gone this far. It would appear that she had been expecting his call- he could only hope that would mean that Kazuha was still alive. Ideally hoping to make out some kind of sound that reassured him of this fact, Heiji strained his ears.

Even if he couldn't make that out, if he could hear anything that might lend him a clue as to Kazuha's location, then it would help. Just to be sure, he was recording the call, so that he could listen to it as many times as he needed.

"Where is she?" Try as he might, he couldn't contain all of his anger, allowing some to slip out on his voice. "If I were ya, I would give up an' give her back right away, cause I can promise ya, I _will_ find you."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." The voice on the other end of the line merely replied. "But you shouldn't be so frantic. I am giving you a chance, after all."

"Well that's mighty kind of ya." Heiji noted, arching a brow. "Not sure how willin' I'll be ta extend that gracious offer back ta ya, not once I've caught ya."

"I would imagine not."

"So? With that mind, ya wanna give up already?" Heiji asked, though he already had a fair idea as to what the answer might be. "I already know who are ya are, after all. Once I tell Jodie-han, ya won't be able ta go out in public ever again."

"I'll make do, as I did last time."

"Just so ya know, if ya try anythin' with Kazuha, I'll-!" Cutting himself short as he made out the faint sound of something crunching by his ear, Heiji drew in a long breath, forcing himself to calm down again. If he got mad to the point where he crushed his phone, he would lose his only way to directly contact the culprit.

"Her use has already been decided. You needn't worry about _that_."

Somehow, those words weren't in the least bit comforting. With the way she was beating around the bush though- it was clear that she didn't want the underlying truth of this case to be exposed anymore than he did. That was just fine for him. "I'm gonna find her, ya know. You an' her both."

"I imagine you'll do your best. That said, if you don't find her before forty-eight hours are up, it'll be too late. Not unless she can hold her breath half as well as you can, that is."

His eyes narrowing at that comment, Heiji made out a faint sound from the other end of the line- probably one the culprit had made on purpose. Though it took him a second to place it, it sounded like someone moving through water. Did the bastard plan on drowning Kazuha? Like hell he'd let them!

"I'm afraid I have some other business that I need to attend to now, so I'll have to let you go. I suppose I should wish you good luck here, as you'll likely need it."

"Hey, wait you-!" His protests dying in his throat as the call was abruptly dropped, Heiji pulled his cellphone away from his ear, glaring down at the screen. They could try and determine her location by tracking her cellphone's signal, but he doubted that the culprit would be stupid enough to leave it on.

As for his own phone... he'd definitely done some damage to it, Heiji noticed, grimacing a little as he took note of the cracked screen. Controlling his temper in this situation was easier said than done, but if he didn't, he suspected his strength alone would blow his secret wide open. And as much as he hated to admit it, he needed all the help he could get right now.

"Well?" Jodie asked, taking a step forward. "You did record the call, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did." Heiji told her, nodding his head. "I'll play it back fer the two of ya in just a second. From the sound of it though, Kazuha's still alive. Though from the sound of it..." gritting his teeth, he forced his next words from his throat. "...not fer much longer."

"How long do we have?" Sera asked.

"Around forty-eight hours." Heiji told her. "From the sound of it, our culprit plans on drownin' her. Probably has already begun."

"In other words, they're planning on doing it slowly." Jodie remarked, narrowing her eyes. "If that's the case, they might not remain in the same place where they've taken Toyama-san."

"Yeah. Probably set up some kinda method fer releasin' water steadily over time." Heiji noted. "Well, if I know Kazuha though, which I do, she's not goin' ta just sit around an' accept her fate- provided she's allowed ta stay _awake_ , that is."

"You said you knew who the culprit was, Hattori-kun." Jodie said, taking a step forward. "Did you find something at that house?"

"We did." Exchanging a glance with Sera, he watched as his fellow high school detective went for her phone, pulling open the file with the photographs she had taken with it. "One hell of a thing at that. Figured ya might not believe us, so we made sure ta take plenty of photos."

"It's her, isn't it?" Jodie asked, her gaze not yet leaving his own. "The daughter."

"Yeah." Closing his eyes, Heiji forced another breath through his lungs, nodding his head. "If I don't miss my guess, there's no way ta say that she's not involved with this. I bet if ya checked up on her right now, ya'd discover that she went missin'. Considerin' that ya had ta ask her directly for the key ta the house, she must have been expectin' that we'd find what we did."

"And decided to kidnap Toyama-san in order to distract us?" Jodie asked, finally breaking her gaze, turning back on her heel to look at the cellphone that Sera was offering her. With a finger, she slid through the photo gallery, her eyes narrowing further at every picture that crossed the screen.

When they had told her it was something that she would never believe with photographic evidence, she hadn't been sure what to expect- other than not _this_. It felt more like she was looking at a horror movie set, than something that actually existed in reality. They certainly hadn't found _anything_ like this there when they had searched the house the first time. If they had, this case might have ended with only three victims.

Now there was a seventh in the making- and if couldn't manage to save this one, she would never forgive herself. She might not know Toyama Kazuha all that well, but not only could she not abide by the idea of allowing someone so young to die, she knew that it would irrevocably fracture any future partnership that she might have with the Edogawa Conan boy, who had proved so strangely useful to them.

Hattori Heiji was close enough to him that he'd gone out of his way to ask her about this case, and was worried enough to ask if there was any way she could him. Given how intent he seemed on bringing down the Organization, for reasons that she wasn't quite sure of yet, the fact that he had asked something of her that would pull her away from that investigation was proof enough just how much he cared for the Osakan high school detective.

It went without saying that he cared quite a bit for his childhood friend as well. Not to mention the Mouri girl... if she failed to save someone she clearly considered a friend, she would never be able to face her former student again.

"It could be." Heiji remarked, for the moment, going with that. It was easier to explain than the truth anyways. "Either way, it appears like our culprit's into some seriously weird stuff. Her an' her mother both, from the looks of it."

"Just judging from these photographs, I can already tell that much." Jodie noted. "I'll have a team sent out there to look into this in more detail. I'm going to assume this room wasn't left out in the open."

"It was hidden." Sera supplied. "I was the one who found it, while I was searching the mother's room. At the time, I was thinking about the sixth's victim, and the hidden storage space in her closest, so without thinking, I started looking for something like that there too. Well, as it turns out, what I found was much more than just a mere storage space."

"I'll say." Heiji observed, briefly glancing up from his phone. He had tried calling Kazuha's number again, and while her phone was still connected for the moment, the culprit wasn't picking up.

He figured they wouldn't. On other hand, they _had_ -

"A mail?" Heiji blinked, recognizing the address it had been sent from as the one belonging to Kazuha. What was it that they had sent him? Perhaps some kind of hint? That was awfully bold of them if that was the case.

"It's a link. Looks like it goes ta some kinda video site." Moving so that Sera and Jodie alike could see his phone's screen, Heiji cast a glance up towards them. Watching as Jodie quickly pulled out her own phone, and recorded the URL that had been sent to him, she nodded her head, silently telling him to open it.

He should have expected something like this, in retrospect.

"Oi, is that-?!" Sera began, her eyes briefly widening in surprise- before they just as quickly narrowed. It seemed as if the culprit really was just toying with them at this point- with her identity out in the open, it didn't seem if she cared that much about giving them such a vital clue as this.

It was a clue, to be sure- but it was also designed to taunt them. What other reason would they have for sending them what was likely real time footage of where Kazuha was currently being imprisoned?

" _That bastard_."

The faint hiss that she heard on Heiji's voice, something that barely sounded human, caused Sera's gaze to flicker up towards his face. Blinking, for a moment uncertain if what she was seeing was actually real, or was perhaps simply a trick of the light, she quickly confirmed that her eyes were in fact, _not_ playing tricks on her.

As if it were leaking out of his pupils, traces of black were spreading out into the blue of his iris, almost seeming to surge with his rising anger. And for a moment, for the briefest of moments, she found herself wondering if they weren't dealing with just one, but rather, _two_ monsters here.

One of whom was far more literally so than the other.

* * *

From the way the scar on his hand furiously itched, he was able to figure it out.

From what the culprit had said over the phone, it wasn't hard to guess that she was planning on making Kazuha her seventh painting. Given the planned cause of death was that of drowning, it wasn't hard to figure out that whatever supernatural creature she was planning on modeling this after had to do with water.

The most obvious answer was also the most likely one- and it was one that filled him a snaking sort of dread. They had never seen one- a real mermaid, that was, but they'd nevertheless had unforgettably brushed up against one of their legends. But there was no reason for him to think that the culprit should know about that- while the case and his involvement had been covered in the local papers, not only was Kazuha's name never mentioned, but a story like that shouldn't have traveled all this way.

Instinct told him it wasn't a coincidence, though.

It probably wasn't a coincidence that the niece of the first victim had been sought out and recruited by vampire hunters. It wasn't that he thought they had anything to do with this- but rather, that it was likely that even before her murder, Marie Grady had some kind of connection to them. For someone like that to have a death portrait painted of them as a vampire...

The culprit knew that. Amelia Hayden knew.

Perhaps it was only a guess on her part that Kazuha had been involved in the Mermaid Island case. If she had done research into him, it likely would have cropped up at some point, calling her attention to the case. Given that he had brought her with him all the way out here, it wouldn't have been that hard for her to guess that she might have been with him at the time.

Still, even that didn't quite satisfy him. After all, it wasn't just the mere fact that they had gotten mixed up into a case there that was the problem, but rather, it was the item that Kazuha had obtained there, one that was now lost to the river that flowed through the island.

The Mermaid's Arrow.

Shaking his head, Heiji tried to refocus his thoughts. Sure, it bothered him, but the most important thing right now was finding Kazuha and rescuing her- and if there was something that he could learn from this video, then he would use it to his fullest. Even if the sight of Kazuha lashed against a steel beam with chains caused both anger and panic to broil inside of him, he had to fight it back.

For some reason, it felt almost harder to than usual.

"Hattori-kun?" His internal struggles most have been less so than he thought, for the soft hand that he felt on his shoulder was one that was filled with concern. "I think you probably need to step outside for a moment, to get a bit of fresh air. I'll keep monitoring the video for you, don't worry."

"Y-yeah, yer right." Slowly nodding his head, Heiji drew in a shuddering breath. He didn't want to leave, but at the same time, she was probably right- a bit of fresh air would probably help him. Right now, they had already sent the link to some of her coworkers in the FBI, with orders to try and track where it was coming from. Though he hated the idea of anyone being allowed to see Kazuha in such a state, especially complete strangers, if it could get them results, he would swallow such feelings.

Still, he didn't think it would be that simple. After the link had been sent to them, any other attempts to contact Kazuha's phone had turned up fruitless- the culprit had already switched off the power. They would try and track it's location, but...

Right now, at this very second, there was nothing that he could do. It was frustrating, but if he wanted the best chance of saving Kazuha, then he had to accept the help of others. Her safety was more important than his pride.

"Then, sorry, Jodie-han. I'm goin' ta excuse myself fer awhile."

With a quick nod of his head, Heiji moved towards the door, pausing only to collect his sword case before he headed back towards the roof. Night had already fallen on the town, tugging at something within his blood, the lack of bright sunlight giving him some small relief. He still felt like hell though, in a way that he hadn't in awhile.

Something inside of his head was frazzled, as if there was a cloud of static over his thoughts, no matter what he tried to do to combat it. Even with the brim of his hat now shadowing his face, he couldn't focus half as much as he wanted to, allowing his emotions to get the better of him in a situation where even he was well aware that he couldn't afford such a thing.

This was bad. If this kept up...

That's right. Kudo. He should call Kudo. Maybe the sound of his friend's voice on the other end of the line might help ground him somewhat. At the very least, he would be able to bounce ideas off of him. He didn't think that Kudo had much more knowledge of this area than he did, but there still might be something that they could realize together.

Pacing the rooftop, Heiji cast a glance towards the door, only half remembering to double check to ensure that nobody was listening in. Since he couldn't hear the sound of anyone's heartbeat, he assumed that he was alone at the moment. While it was possible that woman might have something watching the hotel, he doubted it- if she did, he would most likely be able to see it, or at the very least, feel it's presence.

Honestly, what was that thing? He had seemed to be able to banish it with his sword, which was good, but knowing exactly what was bothered him.

Perking up at the sound of someone picking up the other end of the call, Heiji almost felt his shoulders slump as he heard the familiar sound of his friend's voice. What he wouldn't give to have him with him right now- but then again, if he had been here, there was a chance that they could be searching for two missing persons right now, not just one.

Not that Kudo would go without a fight- but Kazuha wouldn't either, and look how that had ended up.

"It's bad, Kudo."

"I can tell that much from the sound of your voice, Hattori." Conan noted. "Did something happen after that? You said that you'd found some kind of secret room last time you called."

Ah, that's right- he hadn't gotten back to Kudo yet after that. There hadn't been the time. Rubbing the back of his neck, Heiji tried to decide from where to start- and concluded that the most important thing should probably come first. Everything else was now secondary to the situation at hand, even trying to figure what, exactly, the culprit's motive was.

Witch or not, she probably had them.

"Kazuha's been kidnapped."

* * *

"Mitsuta-neechan!"

If there was one thing Arishima Mitsuta was not expecting that morning when she woke up, it was a small child all but breaking down the door of her clinic. That was a bit of an exaggeration, granted, yet that was very much how it felt when she found the door thrown open, a rather breathless child pausing to catch it in the doorway.

"Conan-kun?" Mitsuta blinked, before slightly tilting her head. "Is everything alright?"

In spite of the fact that her clinic was located not that far from the Mouri Detective Agency where the young boy apparently resided, she hadn't really ever had many chances to speak with him. Of those times, she'd never had a chance to do so alone, and never when he had such a desperate expression on his face.

"Ha-" He began, before he quickly corrected himself, drawing in a long breath. "Heiji-niichan is a bad situation right now. He needs your help."

"My help?" Mitsuta blinked, for a moment more confused by the suddenness of this than anything else. If she recalled correctly, right now, Heiji was busy investigating a case overseas- he had called her about it a few times, to check a few things with her, but hadn't gotten in touch with her lately. "Did he already return from America?"

"No, he's still there." Conan said, shaking his head. "Kazuha-neechan's been kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?" Blinking rapidly, Mitsuta's eyes narrowed, setting down her coffee mug. That she didn't like the sound of, for more reasons than one. "That is a serious situation. But even if you tell me that, I'm not sure how I can help. I'm a doctor, not a detective."

"She might have been..." Conan opened his mouth, before quickly shutting it again, still not half able to believe that he was about to say something like this. "She might have been kidnapped my a witch."

"A witch?" Mitsuta asked, her brows furrowing together in thought. "Now that I think about it, Hattori-kun did mention something about that to me the last time he called. Is a witch involved with the case he's working on right now? He was awfully scarce on details, so..."

"Yeah, one might be." Conan forced himself to admit. Heiji had sent him some of the photos, by his own request. Even if the culprit wasn't the real deal, it was clear that at the very least, they were someone who thought themselves a witch- and judging from the secret basement setup, they weren't talking about the benevolent, charm casting kind.

"If a witch really kidnapped her, then..." Making her way towards one of the file cabinets behind her desk, dragging one leg slightly behind her, Mitsuta opened up a drawer, rifling through it. "I don't know if it will help, but I do know another witch that Hattori-kun might be able to skip with. Getting her to agree to help though might be..."

"Difficult?" Conan finished for her, able to glean that much from her tone alone. "We'll take it regardless. From the sound of it, he only has forty eight hours to rescue Kazuha-neechan before she drowns."

"Drowns?!" Nearly dropping the folder out of surprise, Mitsuta turned on her heel to face the young child, briefly wondering how someone so young could say something so easily. "She wasn't just kidnapped?"

"No." Shaking his head, Conan narrowed his eyes. "Like I said before, it's a bad situation."

"It certainly _sounds_ that way." Mitsuta observed, placing the folder on her desk and opening it up. Scanning it for the information that she needed, she jotted down a name and number on a scrap of paper. "And? How is Hattori-kun doing? You spoke with him, correct?"

"Y-yeah." Slowly nodding his head, Conan couldn't help but frown. It was a perfectly normal question to ask under these circumstances, and yet something about it bothered him. It was the tone, he realized, a moment later- there was something almost vaguely clinical about it, mixed in with the genuine concern for one of her patients. "He seems... strained, I guess."

"Understandable." Mitsuta noted, making her way over towards him, passing him the scrap of paper. "Here's the phone number for the witch in question. Hopefully she'll be able to help Hattori-kun sort out what he's dealing with, and figure if it really is a witch that's causing him problems right now."

"Thank you, Mitsuta-neechan." Gratefully accepting the scrap of paper from her, Conan tucked it into one pocket. "Is there some reason that I should be worried about Heiji-niichan though? Other than the obvious, I mean."

"Ah, well that's..." Leaving her words hanging for the moment, Mitsuta carefully tried to think of how to phrase what it was that she wanted to say. The last thing that she wanted to do was to cause this child undue stress in such an already stressful time- though she had to admit, he was taking it rather well, all things considered.

Heiji had asked her, after all, to keep the fact that there was a chance he might relapse into that state a secret. It wasn't a guarantee, only just a slim chance- since they had brought him out of a dangerous condition by using untested methods, it was hard to say what the long term results might be on him. Hopefully she was wrong, but if she wasn't...

This situation seemed as if it would be the perfect storm of circumstances for it. And if he relapsed back into that violent state in a distant country, without anyone around who knew him that well, or knew what he was, he was hard to imagine what might happen. Nothing good, at the very least- that much she knew without having to guess.

"It's that flower, isn't it?"

Nearly freezing at Conan's tone of voice, Mitsuta snapped out of her thoughts, for a moment, finding herself wondering if the gaze that was fixed on her was really that of a child's. What an intense gaze.

"No, it's not like that-" Mitsuta began, before she found herself cut off once again, this time by the long, exasperated sigh of someone who knew the person they were speaking about all too well.

"Heiji-niichan told you not to say anything, didn't he?" Conan asked, arching a brow. As he thought, there was something. The idea that Heiji was keeping something from him, especially something that was important from the sound of it, bothered him- but he couldn't claim that he didn't understand.

Letting out a long sigh of her own, Mitsuta merely nodded her head. She got the impression there was no fooling this child. "He did." She finally admitted, giving Conan a curt nod of her head. "But it's only just a possibility, Conan-kun."

"A possibility of what?" Conan asked, having a crawling feeling he knew where this was going. He knew that he should have found some way to go with him after all- he'd rather be there, than here right now, by Heiji's side, helping him locate Kazuha.

Drawing in a breath, Mitsuta spent only a moment pondering how she should phrase it. Somehow, she didn't think that this child needed as many delicate words as she had first thought.

"For relapse."


	13. Metaphorical Monsters

**AN** : Hey, sorry for the wait, but here's the next chapter! I'm dealing with a few issues here post returning from vacation, but hopefully they should all sort themselves out soon, and I should be a little more productive in the future as a result. But for those of you who have stuck with me, I thank you, especially those of you who have left reviews! I hope you continue to do so!

Until next time!

* * *

 **Bloodsport**

 **Chapter Thirteen**

 **Metaphorical Monsters**

* * *

"Relapse?"

Just the word alone was enough to send a chill down his spine, thoughts drifting towards places he'd rather not have them go. He knew that it was the same for everyone, really, but it hadn't been easy, seeing Heiji in that state. There had been nothing left of the hotblooded Osakan detective in him, nothing but an anger so white hot and intense that it made even the worst of his fits of temper look like nothing more than the tantrum of a puppy. To think that there was a chance that he might fall back into... he didn't even want to consider it.

But it appeared that he had very little choice in the matter. If there was a chance that it might happen, it wasn't as if he could deny reality and run away from it, especially not under the current circumstances.

"Yes, basically." Nodding her head, Mitsuta leaned back against her desk, pulling her weight off her weaker leg. "It's only slight, but there's a chance that under the right circumstances, he might end up right back where he was before. The cocktail that I gave him in order to subdue the flower's effects only did that- according to my tests, he's likely to harbor that change in him for quite some time yet."

"Exactly how long do you mean quite some time?" Conan asked. "And what do you mean by _under the right circumstances_?"

"I don't know." Mitsuta confessed, shaking her head. "I only had a small amount of time to actually test the serum in the first place. I wasn't even entirely sure if it would really work or not when I gave it to him. I would assume that the timeline for it all to fade from his body would be around the same amount of time it would take for the flower's effects to wear off entirely. Probably around a year, I'd say."

"But given that the scent was diluted into a perfume, it might be around half that time." Mitsuta quickly added, hoping not to cause Conan too much worry. "I can't say for sure that it would even happen, since there's plenty about it that I don't know. My experiments with it can only go so far, since it's not like I can actually directly test it on anyone."

"As for the right circumstances... it's possible that in periods of high stress, the effect that's leftover in his body from the flower's scent might activate." As she watched his expression change, Mitsuta hurriedly clarified her own words. " _Might_. Like I said, it's merely a possibility, and it's not like it's the same as being exposed to the flower all over again. As long as he can maintain some measure of control, it shouldn't happen."

Usually, those words would be something of a comfort, but... this was _Hattori_ they were talking about here. He wasn't one generally known for self control, especially when it came to his temper. With Kazuha in the situation she was right now, there was no way that he could stay calm.

This was bad. This was clearly bad. If he fell into that state again, and in a foreign country, nonetheless... there was no way it would end well.

"Is there anything we can do to prevent that?" Conan asked.

"I don't know." Shaking her head, Mitsuta frowned. "I could create another dosage of the serum, as something of a preventative measure, but it's possible that would only just irritate his condition. As far as I know, nobody has ever actually worked to save a vampire from the effects of that flower before, so there's not really much data on it."

There was an underlying meaning to her words there, that much Conan could sense. If nobody had ever worked to save them, then the implications were fairly clear- in the past, those affected by the flower's scent were probably killed. Once again recalling that state Heiji had been thrust in, he shuddered, before drawing in a long breath, pushing such thoughts back.

There was no guarantee that was going to happen. While Heiji might not be much of one for self control, it wasn't as if he wanted to lapse back into that state either, so he would do his best to prevent it from happening. But, if something were to happen to Kazuha, if he couldn't save her...

There would be no way.

But there was no way that Heiji would let something like that happen either- nor Kazuha, for that matter. He knew her well enough to know that she wasn't the type to sit around and wait to be rescued- if there was something that she could do to get away, she would do it. That said, based on the footage that he had been sent, she seemed to be pretty securely contained, so escaping would be tricky.

If that was the case, he had to do everything that he could to back up Heiji. Losing either of them wasn't an option he would ever accept.

"I'll prepare some more, just in case." Mitsuta said after a moment, pushing herself back onto her feet. "But like I said, Conan-kun, it's merely just a possibility. As long as Hattori-kun seems fine, there's probably nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, I got it, Mitsuta-neechan." Nodding his head, Conan gave her a smile. "I'll pass on the number that you gave me to Heiji-niichan. I'm sure it'll help!"

"I hope so." Though her smile was clearly strained, she put forth an effort to give him one anyways. Truly, what a strange child he was. "I can't say that I want to see anything happen to either of them myself. Tell him that he can call me if he needs anything, and I'll do anything that I can to help."

"I will." Nodding his head, Conan headed for the door, pausing for a moment in front of it to look back. "But thank you for telling me, Mitsuta-neechan."

He'd have some words with Heiji after all of this was over, about keeping something that important from him- but for the moment, the important thing was saving Kazuha. Even before catching the culprit, her rescue took priority. While it was frustrating to have an entire ocean dividing them right now, he wasn't about to let that stop him from doing what he could.

* * *

He heard her approach even before she called out to him. Even in the low light of the night, she could tell that much from the way he grew stiff, his shoulders tensing, before they relaxed, almost as if he sensed the one approaching him was of no threat. Watching as the dim light of his phone disappeared into his pocket, he was already on his feet by the time his name left her lips.

"So you were hiding here, Hattori-kun."

"I wouldn't say that I was _hidin_ '." Apparently he had enough left in him to make a quip, though the grin that he wore felt rather strained. "Not exactly, at least. What's up?"

"You didn't come back, so we got a bit worried." Sera told him. Perhaps it was just the darkness of the night that made it seem that way, but his eyes appeared to be more hollow now than before. More like the eyes of a dead man, than someone still alive. "The interviews have finished, apparently. Not that they told us much, or anything at all, for that matter."

"So they didn't see anythin'?" Heiji asked, folding his arms in front of his chest, forcing out a long sigh. "I didn't think they would, given what we're dealin' with."

"And what is it that you think we're dealing with here, Hattori-kun?" Sera asked, not missing the way that light flickered back into his eyes at the question, however brief.

"Ya got me. Can't say I know anymore than ya or Jodie-han." Heiji told her, shrugging his shoulders. "Other than them havin' seemed ta struck a deal with some kinda invisible man. Maybe it's got somethin' ta do with all the weird shit we found in their basement."

"Could be." Sera said.

He was playing dumb, she realized that much. Heiji clearly knew more than he was letting on here, but for some reason, he wasn't sharing that information with them. The circumstances being what they were, she could only imagine what his reasons might be- at this point, any information that they could get their hands on would be vital to not only solving this case, but also rescuing Kazuha.

It wasn't that he didn't want Kazuha to be rescued- of course he did. There was no way he would have jumped from a helicopter in such a hurry if he didn't. But rather, it almost seemed as if he viewed telling them more than he felt that they needed to know was dangerous.

She could sort of understand why, at this point.

"Either way, we've sure stumbled on to one hell of a case." Sera finished, gauging his reaction, half out of habit. It would appear that perhaps his secret, and the secret behind this case, were more connected than she had previously realized. She could only hope that this wouldn't mean things would end badly.

There were still plenty of things that she needed to do, after all- like find out if her brother was really dead or not. She couldn't afford to be stopped here.

That said, she had no interest in bailing out of this case early either, even for her own sake.

That kind of half hearted running away wasn't her style. Somehow, she got the feeling that wasn't an option anymore, even if it were.

" _Hell's_ a good word fer it." Apparently it was another quip that he couldn't resist, and with it, came a bit more of a grin. "At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if a demon showed up."

"A demon, huh?" Sera asked, letting out a small laugh. "Somehow, I get the feeling that if a demon really did show up, it would be easier to cut a deal with than the culprit this time."

She bit back what else she wanted to say- that for a moment, he had looked something akin to one himself. Under the dim light of the moon, she couldn't tell if what she had seen back there had been real or not. She didn't regard herself as the type to imagine things, but with a case like this, it was starting to get a bit hard to determine what was real, and what wasn't.

What _was_ real, however, were the sharp white teeth that glinted bright even under the night sky, as Heiji exposed them in a grin. She'd never quite missed how sharp his canines were, but for some reason, today, they appeared more so than ever.

Maybe a demon was already here, with them. And if it were not a demon... well, perhaps it was something _else_.

"That might be true." Heiji admitted, closing his eyes, drawing in a long breath. He didn't need it, of course, but it helped focus his thoughts, just a little. The buzzing in his head didn't go away, but he'd be able to manage for now. Kudo had promised that he would get into contact with Mitsuta, but until he called him back, there was still something else that he could do. "Say, ya wanna come with me, Sera-han?"

"That depends on where it is you're planning on going." Sera noted. "Though I have a pretty good idea. It's that old man's house, right?"

"Yeah." Opening his eyes, Heiji let a fierce grin cross his face. "If that guy won't talk ta the FBI, maybe he'll have a thing or two ta say ta _us_."

"You sound pretty confident of that, Hattori-kun." Sera couldn't help but note, arching her brows. Once more, a gleam of life sparked within his eyes, returning them from the dead. As for the trace of black that had seemed to leak out from his pupils, she couldn't tell if it was really there or not- but she didn't think she had imagined it.

"Well," placing a hand on the strap of his bag, Heiji pulled it a bit closer to him. He got the feeling it would probably come in handy again, and soon, at that. "...I've got a few tricks up my sleeve that I haven't tried yet."

* * *

She'd gotten a bad feeling when Sera hadn't returned from checking up on Heiji, and it would seem that her instincts had proven correct. Though he had turned them away at the door, they had naturally put eyes on the home of Bradford Wise, in the event that he try and attempt to slip away from them. Since at the moment, he was currently their only lead, they couldn't afford to lose him.

Especially since Caroline Hayden had already gone missing without a trace. The FBI agents who had been tasked with watching her couldn't even recall where they had seen her last- or rather, the reports of where they had lost contact with her all contradicted each other. It was a curious detail that bothered her, but at the very least, she had confidence that she was most likely somewhere in this city.

Bradford Wise had thus become very valuable to them- she knew it, and they knew it too. Perhaps, then, she shouldn't be the least bit surprised at the report that she had gotten from her colleagues that the both of them had been spotted approaching the residence. And from the sound of it, rather than knocking on the front door, the two of them appeared to be intent on _breaking in_.

That, obviously, would be a problem for them. The last thing that they needed to do right now was waste time in getting caught up in red tape. She knew that man's type all too well- if they did one thing that seemed even _slightly_ illegal, he would never let it go. Even if Heiji and Sera weren't really connected to the FBI, they were still assisting on the investigation, and their actions could still reflect on the group as a whole.

Odds were, they probably hadn't thought of that- and if they had, then it probably hadn't been very hard.

Given that it was his childhood friend and girlfriend that had been kidnapped, she could understand why it was that Heiji was taking such rash action. As for how he had talked Sera into helping him... well, perhaps that shouldn't come as much of a surprise either. Given her personality, she couldn't imagine that it had been very hard.

"Monitor the footage for me, please, and give me a call if anything comes up." Rising to her feet, Jodie produced her keys. "I'll go and fetch those two before they can cause us any trouble."

Well, it wasn't as if she couldn't understand their feelings, though.

* * *

"What _is_ it with you, and needing to be invited into places?"

" _Shut up_." Grumbling a little, Heiji's brows furrowed together. It wasn't as if he cared for it either- it was a serious problem for him! "Just hurry up an' do it already, before the guys Jodie-han has watchin' this place try an' stop us."

"Fine, fine." Her gaze flickering in the direction that they had come, Sera confirmed that there was no one looking to stop them. They had probably spotted them coming this way, though she couldn't quite make out where they were watching the place from, but she didn't doubt that they had seen them. Jodie probably wouldn't be happy, but well...

If it turned up results, wasn't it fine?

"You can come in, Hattori-kun." Sera told him, taking a step back, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Still though, for a rich guy, I would have expected him to have a better security system. I'm almost disappointed about how easy this was."

"Let's hope it's not fallin' under the realm of _too_ easy. Hate ta come out all this way fer nothin'." Heiji muttered, half to himself as he pulled himself up through the window. Given how firmly the old man had refused his entry before, he wasn't even sure if this would work. But as he passed through the window without any trouble, it would seem as if his worries were for nothing.

"Well, based on precedence, I almost wouldn't be that surprised if she'd cut her ties with the guy already." Sera noted, keeping her voice low. "Via murder, of course."

"The most failsafe way ta cut people out of yer life." Heiji quipped. At the very least, there were other people in the house, he could tell that much from the sound of their heartbeats. "'Cept fer the part where it's a crime, not ta mention a dick move, usually."

"So? Where do we start looking?" Sera asked, glancing back behind her into the darkened house. Was everyone already asleep? "Just so you know, I wasn't able to see that much of it when he invited me and Jodie-san in the other day. It's not like he rolled out the red carpet for us and gave us the grand tour."

"I didn't think so." Heiji noted, frowning slightly. It wasn't as if he could just advance in the direction of the heartbeat that seemed to be the one most likely to belong to the old man, not without seeming suspicious. And if he didn't miss his guess, Sera was already plenty suspicious of him- so he needed to try and be at least a little bit careful.

Even if he _was_ seriously considering interrogating the guy using hypnosis. Past events had made him wary of using it, but in a situation like this, where time was critical, the faster he got the information he needed, the better.

Speaking of information, he'd made out the sound of his phone buzzing a little while. He'd checked it while Sera had been tampering with the windows, to find that it was a message from Kudo, containing a phone number and a name. Something about a witch that Mitsuta was acquainted with, that might be able to provide him with some assistance.

The first chance he got, he would give her a call. He was mostly flying blind here, which wasn't something that he cared for. If this witch had Kazuha, then that was all the more reason for him to want to have some idea as to what it was that he was dealing with here. Not to mention, if she could just escape by transferring bodies again, it would make this whole chase fruitless.

In order to truly put an end to these murders, he needed to catch her once and for all.

"Fer now, how about headin' upstairs?" Heiji offered. "Any bedrooms in this place are probably up there."

"Sounds like a fair bet." Sera observed, squinting a bit as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. In hindsight, what they were doing right now probably was not the smartest- or even the most legal of moves, but when someone's life was at stake, she didn't see anything wrong with it.

Besides, she got the feeling that it was better that she go with him, rather than let Heiji do this himself. Though he seemed to be holding it back, it was clear as day that there was anger brewing underneath the surface. If he were left alone, with someone who had already very clearly shown a strong distaste for him, she couldn't say what might happen. Perhaps nothing.

Perhaps something.

"Then, let's not waste any more time here. Jodie-han's probably gonna be comin' ta pick us up in a little while, anyways." Heiji noted, rubbing the back of his neck as he made his way into the living room, a slight frown on his face. It was possible the old man didn't know anything useful, but he'd rather try to do something than nothing at all.

"You don't think we'll run into another one of those things again, do you?" Sera asked, her gaze fixed on Heiji's back. Though she hadn't seen anything, only sensed something, she got the feeling that it had only been invisible to her. "Can't say I care for going through that again."

Glancing back her way, noting the way that Sera's hand had strayed up to her neck, Heiji could only shake his head. "I don't know. I don't even really know what that thing was. But I'm amazed that yer accepting it's existence so easily, Sera-han."

"Well, it _did_ try and strangle me." Sera noted. "Kind of hard to deny that."

"Fair point." Heiji said, shrugging his shoulders, carefully making his way up one of the stairs. Up above, he could still make out the sound of the heartbeat that he had picked up on, so there was a fair chance that the old man was still alive. He must have value to her then, if she hadn't already cut her ties with him like she had the other four.

Money was a powerful thing, if it could even sway a witch.

As Heiji lapsed into silence, Sera felt herself frown, watching his back. Listening to the way her own footsteps faintly creaked against the stairs, she couldn't help but take notice once more of the utterly silent way in which Heiji moved. Though she was following his steps, his didn't make any noise at all. The way he moved through the darkness without hesitation, as if the path before him was clear, wasn't something that she missed either.

Perhaps not a devil, but rather something else, was it?

Well, that was fine, she supposed, even if he were. Compared to what they were dealing with here, maybe dealing with the literal monster was better than dealing with the metaphorical one.

* * *

"Oi, old man, wake up."

In spite of everything, seeing the panic that flashed across the old man's face upon his waking still managed to provide him with some degree of amusement. For the moment, he'd told Sera to keep an eye on things outside the door, in the event he try and escape, leaving the two of them alone together in the room.

"What, did ya expect that I wouldn't be able ta get in here?" Heiji asked, not doing anything to wipe the rather smug expression off of his face. "Ya should have tried a little harder if ya wanted me ta stay outta here, ya know."

Come to think of it, it was odd- he hadn't noticed any signs of any kind of barrier up around here either. Given that he had been able to recognize him as a vampire by sight, there was no way that he didn't know what he was dealing with when it came to Caroline Hayden. If he really was her patron, it was strange that he didn't have any kind of defenses set up.

Actually, now that he thought about it, it was actually even stranger than that. In her house, she could understand, but why had one of those wraith-like creatures been set on Sera while she was watching Bradford's manor? Was his role as a patron really that important?

Well, with any luck, he'd be able to learn the answers to all of those questions, straight from the horse's mouth.

"I see." To the old man's credit, he composed himself quickly. "You must have asked one of your companions to let you in. Still, I must say, I didn't expect you to come knocking at this hour of the night."

"Like hell ya didn't." Pulling back away from the bed a little, Heiji folded his arms in front of his chest, glowering down at him. "I know full well that Jodie-han sent some people out here ta talk ta ya already. I hear ya turned down their request ta search yer house?"

"Of course." Bradford said simply, his gaze drifting towards the door of his bedroom. Whoever he had brought with him was likely waiting out there. "It would be a fruitless endeavor. There's nothing here for them to find anyways."

"Oh, is that so?" Heiji asked, arching his brows. "I'm sure it's cause yer not involved, right?"

"In order to be involved, I would first need to know what it is that you suspect I'm even involved _in_." Rising to his feet, clearly hoping to use some of his imposing height over him, Bradford made a move towards the light, only to find his path blocked by Heiji. "I can assure you, I'm perfectly innocent."

"Aside from the tax fraud, I guess." Heiji noted, shrugging his shoulders.

"Of that, I was innocent as well." Bradford said, his eyes narrowing slightly at the quip, raising his voice ever so slightly. "I suspected as much the first time we met, but you must be rather young after all. How long ago was it, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Do ya really think I'm goin' ta go into personal talk about myself, with someone who won't tell us what we need ta know?" Quirking a brow, Heiji glowered up at the man, not missing his intentions. "People are dyin', old man, but given that ya seem ta enjoy gawkin' at their death paintings, I guess ya really don't care all that much about human lives."

"I do not think that one such as yourself holds the right to lecture anyone about human lives." Bradford noted, his expression that of a sneer. "I was told by Miss Starling that you were a detective. What a laughable concept."

"That's enough about _me_ already, ya damn old geezer." Aware that he had raised his voice now too, Heiji fought back the urge to do anything more, tugging at him stronger than it ever had. Controlling his temper, the color of his eyes flickered, turning into a golden green. "Why don't we have some words about ya instead?"

He had kind of expected that he wouldn't be easy, but the old man was giving him more resistance than he would have thought. It felt almost as if his hold over him was weaker than that of even Ryou, though it didn't seem that Bradford held the same kind of sixth sense as he did. Maybe it was simply just because he couldn't focus half as well as he wanted to right now- though he was trying to get a grip on it, his head was still fuzzy.

But he needed to do this. If he didn't at least try, then Kazuha...

"Several hours ago, the girl who came with us the other day, the one with the ponytail, was kidnapped. Any chance ya know where she is?" Deciding to cut straight to the point, unsure of how long he could keep him in his thrall, Heiji made sure that his voice was low enough to not be overheard.

For a moment, it almost felt as if he wouldn't get an answer, and then, finally- "No, I am afraid I do not."

It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but he'd been half expecting it nevertheless. Still, he wouldn't give up- there must be something that the old man knew that could help them yet.

"Then, in that case, do ya know where Caroline Hayden is?" Heiji asked. "Or perhaps I should be askin' ya about the location of _Amelia_ Hayden instead?"

"I do not... know where she is either." There was a break, a hesitation to his voice, and Heiji could only wince, feeling the feedback from someone trying to buck his hold on them. Combined with the static in his head, it made for a rather unpleasant experience.

Biting down on his lip, the faint taste of his own blood helping to stabilize his thoughts somewhat, Heiji carefully considered what to ask next. If he asked the wrong thing, or used the wrong kind of phrasing, he could force something out of the man that wasn't true. He couldn't afford to waste time chasing a false lead, not right now.

With every hour that passed, Kazuha was drawing closer to death. And unlike him, she wouldn't come back from it.

"Does Amelia Hayden have a studio here?"

There was another long pause there, before the old man finally spoke again, his words turning Heiji's glower into a grin. Finally, it felt as if he were getting somewhere.

"Yes, she does."

"Oh?" Lifting his brows, Heiji tried to prevent himself from getting too excited. He couldn't afford to lose focus with someone this tough. "Any chance ya know where it is?"

The address that was rattled off to him was unfamiliar, but it didn't matter. He'd find out where it was. At the very least, if they could connect the studio with Caroline, and could find any trace of a connection with the serial killings there, at the very least, the FBI could put out a warrant for her arrest. Though he couldn't say for sure, he was willing to bet that transferring bodies wasn't something that she could do that easily.

It would prevent her from moving openly, if nothing else.

He couldn't claim that he was satisfied with that, but he got the feeling that his hold wasn't going to last much longer. Having already experienced it once, he'd rather not go through having it broken prematurely again. He wasn't sure he could keep himself from saying something he would regret either- it would have been a simple matter to order the man to turn himself in, but if he did something like that, he felt as if he'd be giving up an important part of his own human heart.

He'd already seen to what extent this ability could be used for ill, and he didn't want to become someone like that himself.

"Well then, I thank fer yer help, old man. An' of course, ya won't remember a thing ya just said ta me, or fer that matter, that I was even here."

Couldn't let him give that witch a heads up, after all.

And speaking of witches... he had one of his own to call now. Hopefully this _Koizumi Akako_ would be able to tell him what he wanted to know.

* * *

As she thought, nothing good came from answering phone calls from numbers you didn't recognize. The person on the other end of the line didn't even so much as bother to introduce himself before he came right out with a ridiculous question, if not one that she did know the answer to.

"Any chance ya know how it is a witch would transfer ta another body?"

"Is there any chance you're capable of introducing yourself before asking me questions out of the blue?" Were it not for the sense of urgency in the young man's voice, she would have hung up on the spot. Not to mention, she'd rather like to know how it was that he'd managed to get her phone number. She hadn't recalled handing it out to anyone speaking in a Kansai dialect recently.

"Ah, sorry, sorry." To his credit, the young man on the other end of the line did seem to realize his mistake- though she sensed he wasn't taking half as seriously as he should. "I'm Hattori Heiji. I got yer phone number from an acquaintance of mine, said ya might be able ta help me out some."

"Acquaintance?" Furrowing her brows together, Koizumi Akako leaned back against her dresser, a displeased expression on her face. The fact that someone was handing out her phone number like this bothered her, but so too did the young man's name, for it struck a chord in her- she was almost certain that she had heard it somewhere before, if only in passing.

"Yeah, a acquaintance." Heiji repeated. "Anyways, she said ya could help. So? Can ya answer my question or not? I don't really have a whole lot of free time, not ta mention the charges fer overseas phone calls..."

"Overseas?" Akako frowned, before heaving a short sigh, sensing that she wouldn't be rid of this one, even if she _did_ hang up on him. Best to just answer his questions, and be done with him, then. "Very well, then. I suppose I can answer a few of your questions, Hattori-kun. You wanted to know if there's some kind of spell that allows for soul transference, yes?"

"Nah, I already know that part." Heiji told her. "I wanna know how it's done, an' how I can make sure they can't do it again."

"Sounds like you've landed yourself into some rather interesting circumstances, in that case." Akako observed. "It depends on what kind of witch you're speaking of. For most, such a spell requires a host that trusts them fully."

"What about the kinda witch that's a serial killer?" Heiji asked. "I don't know much about witchcraft, other than ya got talkin' cats sometimes, but I get the feelin' that's probably not yer average witch."

"I should say not!" Scoffing at the mere implication, Akako nevertheless narrowed her eyes. "Were there such a witch here, we would have heard of such a thing by now. Where _are_ you calling from anyways, Hattori-kun?"

"America." Heiji told her. "So I don't know if ya'd heard about her over in Japan or not, Koizumi-han. Pretty dang sure I'm dealin' with a witch here, though."

"That type _does_ like to amass in that country, for reasons I've never understood." Akako noted, before heaving a long sigh. "From the sound of it, you most likely have a witch that uses black magic. For such a witch, a trusting host wouldn't be needed for the spell you mentioned. Has she already transferred before?"

"Yeah, ta her daughter." Heiji told her. "Then she killed her."

"Charming." Though she kept her tone rather dry, Akako couldn't help but wonder exactly what it was that she had gotten herself dragged into. Even for a witch, there were things that one should not do. "Well, in that case, a ritual setup would be required for a spell of that much power. Unless they have already arranged such a thing, it's not simply something that one can do overnight."

"I see. That's good then." Heiji noted. "I don't think she's had the time ta do anythin' like that. Anythin' else I should know about dealin' with this kinda witch? She's kind of got someone important ta me, an' I'd really like ta see ta it that she gets back safely."

"Sounds like you've found yourself trouble indeed." Akako frowned. "If you're dealing with such a thing, you should be careful, Hattori-kun. They're quite proficient when it comes to curses, one could even consider it their specialty. They can also bind the souls of the dead to them so that they will carry out their bidding, and those can be quite the nasty things to deal with."

"Oh, so that's what that thing was?" His tone came across as so casual, that Akako could only blink for a moment, wondering exactly what kind of person she was speaking with right now. "No wonder. But I'll keep that in mind, Koizumi-han!"

"As you should." Akako said shortly, a hand straying to her forehead, trying to work out the faint headache that was threatening to come. "Well, just like any other witch, they have rules that they must follow. Without a proper ritual setup, and without any magical tools, they're as powerless as a normal human."

"I got the feelin' it's not that easy ta catch them with their guard that low, huh?" Heiji asked.

"No. No witch would be fool enough to go anywhere without some kind of magical tool on her." Akako said simply. "Especially not the kind you're describing, from the sound of it."

"I guess they wouldn't." Heiji said. "If that's everythin' that ya've got ta tell me, Koizumi-han, I'll let ya go. Thanks fer the help."

"You're welcome." Not even trying to conceal the dry tone in her voice, Akako merely frowned. "Do take care of yourself, Hattori-kun. I can't say I really approve of the idea of someone sullying the name of all witches by doing such an abominable thing, so I do hope you succeed in catching them. I'd rather not see their ties to the arts spread around, however."

"Ah, ya don't have ta worry about that part." Heiji reassured her. "If anythin', she'll probably just be treated as some kinda fraud. I'm not interested in sparkin' that kinda literal witch hunt myself either. Got more ta lose than gain from it, I guess ya could say."

"That's good, then." Akako said.

Hanging up her phone on that note without so much as a goodbye, before the young man could think of anything else to bother her with, Akako lingered for a moment longer. After a moment of thought, she quickly saved the phone number that had called her to her contacts, making sure to sort it under the section that was trouble.

Somehow, she didn't get the feeling that this would be the last time she would hear from him, and if so, she wanted to be sure to remember him. Especially not now that she recalled where it was that she had heard his name from before.

To think that Hakuba Saguru would have a counterpart that would be involved with such matters. The world truly did work in some strange ways.


	14. The Witch's Atelier

**AN** : I think the less I go into just how long it took me to write this chapter, the better to be honest. I did finally end up with something that I was content with, but boy howdy was this one hard to write for some reason. Still, here it is, chapter fourteen! Just in time for the back to school season- and I wish all of my readers who are, in fact, going back to school (or who already are back in school) well!

Until next time!

* * *

 **Bloodsport**

 **Chapter Fourteen**

 **The Witch's Atelier**

* * *

Her favorite pair of pants were well on their way to becoming completely soaked, but frankly, that was the _least_ of her problems.

Out of all the ways that she could have imagined she would have died, drowning hadn't been that high on the list- though it had, granted, been on the list. When one had a childhood friend who was as jinxed with bad luck as Hattori Heiji, who tended to draw others into his own bad luck, one tended to prepare for the worst. Still, well... she'd definitely pictured drowning to death a bit _differently_.

Being lashed to a pole by chains by a serial murderer hadn't been among what she had imagined.

Speaking of which, after they had exchanged their fair share of mocking words with Heiji over the phone, they had left, and hadn't returned. It had probably been several hours since they had left, based on how much the water had risen, and didn't seem as if they were planning to return. They had left the camera behind, and she couldn't help but imagine that by the time the water reached a level where that would cause it to break, she would already be long dead.

As much as she wanted to claim that by leaving her here, it felt as if they were underestimating her, even Kazuha had to admit that her situation wasn't good. There weren't that many options for escape- it would be one thing if she had been tied up with a rope, but _chains_? All struggling had gotten her were red welts in her skin, one of which had cracked and started to bleed.

Thankfully, it had stopped quickly, but it was more than enough to make her stop. What good would it do her if she ended up bleeding to death before she even had the chance to drown?

She could try working off her gag and call for help- but she doubted that even screaming at the top of her lungs would do her any good. The odds that she was confined in a place where people would pass by were rather low. Heiji might be able to hear here, but if she wore out her voice before he even managed to show up, there was no point. And while she was being filmed, she didn't think that the culprit was so careless that they would have left the sound on.

Not that she knew what she would scream even if she _could_. She didn't even know where she was, much less how it was that she had gotten here. There were no windows in the room to give her any clue, and the sound of water slowly pouring into the room pretty much drowned out everything else- which meant she couldn't even listen to the noises from outside.

She was feeling like a proper damsel in distress, and to be frank, she couldn't help but be a little bit annoyed. If she had just been a little bit more prepared...!

Though, considering her opponent seemed to be some kind of _witch_ , she wasn't certain what good her aikido would do. That was an unfair advantage if she'd ever seen one- not that she could even _see_ the creature that had knocked her out in the first place. Granted, Sera had been able to hit that invisible creature that had attacked her and chased it away, but breaking from a choke hold would be difficult, even for her.

In other words, she would have to rely on Heiji.

Letting out a sigh- or as much of one as she could with duct tape covering her mouth, Kazuha pressed her head back against the metal beam, closing her eyes. At least from what she had gathered from her side of the conversation, she knew that he seemed to be doing well. It had occurred to her that this was the worst sort of situation for him to be in right now, when his own was somewhat delicate, but for the moment, it seemed like he was still on top of his own senses.

For now.

...but as the hours ticked by? That was what she was worried about that most.

No, that wasn't quite true. More than that, what worried her the most was what Heiji would do to the culprit if- _when_ \- he found them. Witch or not, she knew what her childhood friend's temper was like- and that was when he was just a _normal_ human. Things had changed considerably since then, and she could only hope that he wouldn't end up doing something that he would regret.

...besides, if Heiji hurt them _too_ badly, she wouldn't get her chance to get a bit of revenge of her own in. And like hell she was going to take this without getting _some_ kind of payback.

In the meantime, however, she was going to work on getting the gag off after all. It was true that she couldn't think of any use that it could serve right now, but it was still better than not trying at all.

* * *

"I still don't know how you managed to pry it out of that old man, but it looks like your information was spot on, Hattori-kun."

"An' ta think that ya doubted me, Sera-han."

"That grouchy old man? The one who hated you so much he wouldn't even let you into his house?" Sera asked, her gaze briefly flickering over towards him. "Seeing as he wouldn't crack in the least when Jodie-san and I spoke with him before, it's hard to believe that he'd crack to someone he hated that much. Can you blame me, mister _mysterious phone call_?"

"Like I told ya already, that was important!" Heiji protested, narrowing his eyes. "An' what does it matter how I got the information? It was right, wasn't it?"

The pause in Sera's voice was evidence enough that she thought it did, and for a moment, he thought she'd press him on it again- before she merely arched a brow, turning her focus back on the large canvas in front of them. "While at the very least, that's true. If this studio really does belong to Caroline Hayden, then it seems like we've got our evidence. Unless she can think of a way to explain why this is here."

As they thought, the sixth painting, _The Final Ride of the Dullahan_ , had a copy after all. Unlike the one that had been sent to them, it hadn't been framed yet, but there was no mistaking it for anything else, the image having burned itself strongly into their minds. It wasn't alone either- though there were no other paintings connected to the case, there were any number of others in varying half completed states, with a style that even a total amateur could tell was closely related to the one in the untimely portrait.

"Still tasteless." Heiji remarked, folding his arms in front of his chest. He couldn't claim that it hadn't been something that he'd wanted to find, but he rather would have either found Kazuha- or perhaps the painter herself. By the time they had drawn close to the building, he could already tell that neither of them were there- in fact, it didn't seem anyone was around.

He'd never seen a city block so deserted. Given the rundown look of the buildings- mostly old warehouses, he determined, it was likely that this was a piece of land that had fallen into disuse over the years. It wasn't exactly the sort of place that he imagined for an artists' studio, but if one wanted a bit of privacy, there was really no beating it.

And when one was painting monster movie murder portraits, privacy was probably high on the list.

"Not arguing with that." Sera admitted, releasing the cloth that she had pulled away from it, letting it fall to the floor. "That old man probably had it moved here during the time while I was being attacked. If we're lucky, it might still have his fingerprints on it."

"Good enough ta book him, if it does." Heiji noted, taking a slight step back, trying to tear his eyes away from the long dead eyes that had almost been lovingly painted on the canvas, and the decapitated head that they belonged to. "Can't say that I'm not lookin' forward ta the look on his face when Jodie-han slaps a pair of cuffs on 'im."

"Provided he doesn't try and charge us with breaking and entering." Sera noted, her gaze flickering back towards him. He'd been in such a hurry to get them out of there, that she hadn't even had a chance to check on the crotchety old geezer herself, and she was beginning to think that he'd done so on purpose.

For all that, he'd been in no hurry to enter the actual building, in spite of the fact that there was a chance that Kazuha might very well be imprisoned in it. He'd sent her on in ahead to check things out, and when she returned, she'd found him hanging up a phone call, without a word as to who it was that he was calling at such a time.

It couldn't have been Jodie, though they had sent her a message with where they would be. She got the impression that they had probably only just missed her- most likely for the best, given the messages that she had been sending them, both of which they were pointedly ignoring. She'd been tolerant of them thus far, but there was no arguing against the fact that they had crossed a line there.

A line that Heiji didn't seem worried about at all.

"Nah, don't worry about it." Heiji told her, flashing her a grin. "That old man'll probably think the whole thing was weird dream. Won't remember it at all."

"Oh? You sound pretty confident." Sera noted, almost finding herself amused at this.

"Ya could say that." Heiji merely told her. "Now then, before Jodie-han comes ta join us, shouldn't we split up an' give the place a good searchin'? We didn't quite find what we were lookin' fer, but if she didn't have time ta move this huge piece of evidence, there's a chance that there might be some other kind of clue left behind."

"True." Sera admitted, letting out a faint sigh. He was back to dancing around the issue again, if not outright denying that there was one in the first place, as he had been before. "At the very least, with this we'll be able to put out a full warrant for her arrest."

"Not ta mention the old man's." Heiji noted. "I only thought ta ask about her studio, but there's a chance he might be able ta cough up somethin' else that could help us. Well, provided that woman doesn't off him first."

"Ordinarily I'd ask as to how she would plan to do that when he's under FBI observation, but seeing as she likely managed to arrange Madeline's death even while I was watching her," at that, Sera trailed off, a hint of frustration bubbling within her, "...I suppose it wouldn't be impossible."

That seemed to be the theme here, really. Lots of things about this case that she would have otherwise thought impossible were proving themselves to be otherwise.

Chief among them, she thought, was her investigative partner. If she didn't know any better... well, somehow, pressing him for answers in an abandoned warehouse district somehow didn't seem like the best of ideas. She'd rather not risk finding out firsthand to what limits his friendliness stretched.

"But ta arrest her, we'd need ta find her first." Heiji noted, a more serious expression taking over his features- and with it too, Sera couldn't help but note, a more lively gleam in his eyes. "An' I don't think that woman is gonna make that at all easy ta do."

She wanted to say something- but before she got the chance, she instead found herself cut off, Heiji's voice taking on a rather abrupt tone. "Anyways, let's split up. We can cover more ground that way. Give me a shout if ya find somethin'."

"Roger." Sera said, deciding to leave it at that for the moment. Whatever he might be, at least one thing was crystal clear to her- just how much he cared for Kazuha, and just how worried he was for her, as much as he was doing his best to cover it up. "Try not to have any more fainting spells."

" _Idiot_ , that was a one time thing." Heiji noted- deciding not to say that was part of why he had sent her in here to check things out first. As it wasn't really a residence, there was nothing keeping him out of it- not even a barrier, which he couldn't help but be a little bit surprised at.

Either Caroline Hayden was moving in haste with no firm plan, or this was all part of the game to her. As to what kind of game that would be... to be honest, Heiji almost didn't want to know. All he could manage to focus on right now were two things- saving Kazuha, and capturing the one who had put her in this situation the first place.

He couldn't afford to let his thoughts drift, to focus on anything- even keeping his own secret was now secondary. Whatever her motivations were, whatever her reasons for doing all of this was... at this point, he almost didn't even _care_. Maybe that made him something of a failure of a detective, but there were more urgent matters at hand.

And in the end, considering just how far this woman- this _witch_ \- had gone, all the reasons in the world would never really explain any of it to him. If he'd met his fair share of murderers with sympathetic back stories in his day, then Caroline Hayden- or rather, _Amelia_ Hayden- was the furthest thing from.

Speaking of that though...

"Just be careful ya don't step in any strange circles, Sera-han." Heiji noted, barely even looking at the other high school detective. Getting in here had been easy- almost _too_ easy, he still felt, even running under the theory that she was just as unprepared for this kidnapping herself. Just like he couldn't take the chance that there might have been something in here that might harm him- or worse, cause him to harm others, he couldn't take the chance that she didn't still have something else up her sleeve.

The cat was pretty much out of the bag- if she was thinking about ditching her current body, now would be a good time to do it.

"Strange circles?" Sera asked. "Like the one we found?"

"Yeah, exactly like that." Heiji said, giving her a curt nod of his head. "Can't be too careful."

Ordinarily, this would be where Sera would laugh off such an idea- but after all that she had seen and had gone through recently, somehow, she wasn't feeling so quick to do so. If the advice was coming from someone who she now strongly suspected, if not all but knew, knew more about this case than he was letting on, then it was best to take it.

"You've got a point. I'll watch my feet." She promised instead, stepping back, something of a studious expression on her face. He hadn't even tried to pass it off as a joke, so whatever was on his mind, it must have been serious. "I have to say, you're really superstitious for a detective, Hattori-kun."

"Can't be helped." Casting what he knew was not the most convincing of grins back towards Sera, Heiji merely shrugged his shoulders, spreading out his hands. "That's just the way my life ended up."

Trying not to focus on it as he was, it wasn't as if he hadn't noticed. There was something in the way that Sera had been treating him that had shifted, and it wasn't just because someone he loved was in danger. It wasn't as if she seemed to have any concrete ideas, but he could tell that while she didn't, she'd already gleaned enough to have more than a few questions.

She wasn't asking them, and for that, he was almost grateful. While he could have used an ill-timed barrage as an excuse to shake her off, feeling that he could move more freely on his own, at the same time, he knew that wouldn't be wise. With other people around to hold him back, the odds that he would lose his senses were lower.

The tradeoff was, of course, that the odds that he would actually hurt someone should he do so were higher- that was just going to have to be an exchange that he would have to accept, and hope to make the best of. Unlike last time, there was no one here to restrain him- even though he now held both of their charms, he didn't think their combined force would do that much to stop him, should worst come to worst.

Still, if worst came to worst... there probably wouldn't be that much to live for either.

No, no! That damn sure well was a path his thoughts didn't need to be going down right now. Thinking this way wasn't like him, and he couldn't help but wonder if that too was part of the flower's lingering effect, of it was something far more simple than that.

"Sounds like troublesome life." Sera remarked, burying a comment that she felt as if she could relate. If Heiji wasn't about to share his secrets with her, then she really had no reason to do the same!

"Then, let's search this place until we either find something, or Jodie-san shows up. Hopefully the former, rather than the latter." Using her head to point behind her, Sera took a step back. "I'll take this side. You take that side, Hattori-kun."

"O-oh, right." Snapping back to reality, Heiji felt his grip tighten on the strap of his bag, wondering just how badly his expression had faltered that it had earned him that kind of tone from Sera. "Then, if ya see anythin' invisible, give me a shout, Sera-han!"

Letting out a faint snort in spite of herself, though she knew full well his joke was in service of keeping himself stable, Sera merely gave him a smile. If he didn't want to talk about it, that was fine- she wasn't sure how to deal with that sort of thing to begin with. "Sure, sure. If I see anything I can't see, I'll be sure to let out some kind of cry. Perhaps of the strangled variety."

"Yeah, that'll work." Casting a quick, almost grateful grin back towards her, Heiji gave her a mock salute, before he headed in the opposite direction. Casting his eyes around the place, wondering where to start, he caught the faint light of the flashlight Sera had brought with her out of the corner of his eye.

If this whole thing really was some kind of game to that witch, it sure would be nice if she had left some clues around- wasn't that generally how this sort of thing went?

God, he'd have to make this all up to Kazuha somehow. He'd told her to stay behind at the hotel for her own safety, and look how _that_ had turned out. What an idiot he was.

If he was going to keep getting mixed up in cases like this, he was going to have to learn more- _a lot_ more- about the kind of world he'd wandered into. If there was something this case was making clear to him, it was just how little he actually knew about it. Sera might have been quick to make note that he knew quite a bit, but it wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough.

And that damn _vampire hunter_... she probably knew all of this. She'd known about it, and yet she had lead him to believe that this was just a normal case serial murder case! In reality, he knew that it had been stupid of him to take her words at face value- while she had promised to give up on trying to kill him herself, she'd said nothing about letting _someone else_ do it.

Some bargain this had turned out to be. It felt more like he'd gotten _conned_.

Or rather, his old man had. That old bastard- the next time he saw him, he'd-!

No, no. Bad places again. Drawing in a long breath, Heiji steadied himself, pulling himself out of that pit he could feel himself teetering on the edge of. His father had been trying to help at the time- as smart as he was, even he never could have imagined that things would have ended up like this. And he had, in the end, tried to warn him against bringing Kazuha with him- but he hadn't listened.

If there was anyone to be angry at in this situation, it was himself.

Well, himself, and that damn _witch_.

"Wallow in self pity later, ya idiot. S'not like ya anyways." Heiji mumbled to himself, trying to focus himself back on the task at hand. He'd managed to fix his thoughts on the goal while on the way here, but almost as soon as he had determined that neither of those that he sought were actually here, his focus had slipped.

At the very least, it hadn't gotten yet to the point where he couldn't focus- there hadn't been much to go on in the video that they had been sent, but he had managed to determine at least a few things. It only showed one angle, but from that angle, he could gleam that there were at least no windows right behind Kazuha- it was quite likely there were no windows at all in that room.

He hadn't ruled out the chance that there might be a hidden basement, but even if that would be enough to muffle the sound of any heartbeats, he was pretty sure that he'd still be able to hear the sound of water. The way their footfalls struck the floor didn't give him the impression that there was anything hidden underneath their feet either, eliminating that possibility.

Wherever she was, the odds that Kazuha was in a basement somewhere were high. Even in an out of the way place like this, there was still a chance that someone might notice something strange. If she wanted to entirely flood the room with water, a basement would be the most ideal.

One with a trap door, possibly. The water had already gotten up to around Kazuha's feet by the time the video had been sent, and some kind of trap door in the ceiling would be the best way to escape the room without doing away with any of the measures that they had put in place to ensure that the water would remain trapped in there.

If that witch had a studio here, then she must be at least somewhat familiar with the city. If the kidnapping was done on a short notice, she'd probably gone with somewhere she was already familiar with. If he could just trace the places where she had been spotted before...

Unfortunately, he wasn't half as familiar with this city as she was, and he was feeling the lack of home turf advantage. If this was Osaka, he _definitely_ would have found her by now!

But this wasn't Osaka- and to be honest, he was starting to wish that he had just _stayed_ there. Normally his sense of justice would chide him for having such a self-centered thought, but today, it seemed, it was rather absent.

Probably not a good sign, but he wasn't going to worry about that right now.

* * *

Maybe high school detectives really were more trouble than they were worth.

Granted, her experience thus far with them had been rather limited- she had only been directly involved with one once previously. Still, she was starting to get the feeling that she could understand just a bit what that Inspector Megure fellow was feeling when he found outsiders muddling around in his crime scenes.

At least they'd told her where they were going this time. It was reckless in her opinion- she couldn't imagine that old man would have given up such important information so easily, so she was half convinced this was some sort of trap. Though she didn't understand why, one thing was clear to her- that the culprit seemed to have it in for Heiji specifically. Even her latest action of kidnapping Kazuha had more to do with him than it had to do with her.

So to think that he was running around like this, with only another high school student to watch his back? She didn't care how skilled they were at their respective marital arts, what was reckless was reckless!

Spotting their bikes, Jodie pulled her car to the side of the road, turning off the engine. Letting out a long sigh, she slipped out of it. If the lead that they had obtained panned out, it would be good- but the method that they had used to obtain it was bound to cause her more than a few headaches in the near future.

"This must be the place." Double checking the address that had been mailed to her, Jodie tucked her cellphone back away. She had been trying to call them, but neither of them had picked up- though she did get a busy signal when she had attempted to call Heiji's phone once.

Who could he have been talking to during a time like this?

Keeping an ear out, one hand resting on where she had hidden her gun, Jodie made her way towards the building. It looked as if it had once been a warehouse, she dimly thought- she already had some people looking into who actually owned the place. The doors had been left open- which was both careless and wise, considering Sera's previous report of an assailant.

One that was _invisible_. She still didn't know what to make of that part.

Still, she couldn't deny that the bruises around her neck would have been impossible for her to make, so it was clear that she had been attacked by something. Leaving the door open was a sure sign that someone had intruded, but closing it would cut off their only exit route- not to mention if someone wanted to trap them in there, the sound of them closing the door would have quickly caught their attention.

Of course, the open door could be a trap for her as well, she wasn't about to rule that out. Straining her ears, Jodie slid up next to it, only relaxing her shoulders once she heard the faint sound of a familiar voice inside.

Sera she spotted right away as soon as she entered the building, and she could all but see the girl freeze at the sound of her footsteps. Letting out a short sigh, Jodie paused only for a moment to try and find where Heiji was, before she turned her attention back towards the girl whose location she did know.

"Sera-san." She began. "I hope you have a good explanation for all this."

"Ah, Jodie-san." Putting a smile on her face, Sera merely let out a laugh. "Before you get angry, you should come see what Hattori-kun and I found."

"What you found?" Jodie asked, frowning a little. Following Sera's line of vision, her eyes fell on a large canvas, a cloth that had once covered it up cast aside around the easel it had been placed on. "Is that...?"

"Yeah." Speaking up from somewhere in the darkness, Heiji finally came within sight, his white teeth showing an admittedly rather strained grin. "It's the second painting."

"So there really was one." Jodie mused, quickly approaching the canvas herself. Even in the dim light of the warehouse, with not much more than Sera's flashlight and a table lamp illuminating the place, she could tell that much. It was enough to make her excited- before she merely sighed, turning back in Heiji's direction. "But considering the method that you used to obtain this information, this might not even be valid in court."

"It'll be fine, it'll be fine." Heiji was quick to reassure her, making his way down from the upper part of the warehouse. "That old man'll probably think the whole thing was a dream. Right, Sera-han?"

"That's what you told me." Sera said, shrugging her shoulders. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"Ya could afford ta show some faith in me, ya know." Heiji noted, his tone almost sounding vaguely offended. "Cause that's not the only thing I found."

"Technically, _I_ found the painting." Sera chimed in, before her gaze fell- namely, on what he was holding. At that, she felt her lips curl into a grin, as she once more looked up, towards his face. If that expression was what she thought it was...

"Did you find something then, Hattori-kun?" Jodie asked him. "I've had my fellow agents ask around as much as they could about both Caroline Hayden and Toyama-san, but so far they haven't turned up anything."

"Well I can't say fer sure if it's connected ta the case or not, but I did find somethin' that looks pretty interesting." Heiji told them, handing over the paper to Jodie. Watching as she took the flashlight that Sera offered her, he winced internally, once again realizing that he had been caught out without one of his own.

He'd gotten so used to having night vision, that he was starting to forget most people didn't.

"A deed?" Jodie asked, eyes scanning the address.

"Yeah." Heiji said, nodding his head, before jerking it up in the direction he had come from. "Looks like that Hayden woman uses this place as a home base whenever she's here. There's all sorts of stuff up on the second level that seem pretty personal. Found this while sortin' through her documents. The address is in the city, so..."

"So it's worth checking out?" Sera ventured. "I agree."

"As do I." Jodie noted, before her gaze flickered towards Heiji, her eyes narrowing sharply. It was enough to make him flinch, which was exactly the kind of reaction that she wanted. "But if you think I'm going to allow you to go alone after all of this Hattori-kun, then-"

"I know, I know." Holding up his hands, Heiji took half a step back. "I'll be good."

"Good." Letting out a sigh, Jodie's shoulders slumped. "I can understand that you're worried about Toyama-san, we all are, but going off on your own won't solve things."

"I wasn't alone, I brought Sera-han with me." Heiji protested lightly- clearly a mistake, judging from the look it earned him. Against his better judgement, he briefly entertained trying to hypnotized Jodie- before he quickly shelved that idea, not wanting to open up that whole can of worms again.

"How is Kazuha-chan, by the way?" Sera ventured. "Since you're here, I'm guessing that you left someone behind to monitor the video."

"Naturally." Though it was Sera who she spoke to, it was Heiji that she found herself looking at, carefully gauging his expression. "Other than the water level, there haven't been any changes. I told them to notify me if anything did."

"...we _will_ find her, Hattori-kun." Jodie told him. "I'm not about to let a child die on my watch."

"Yeah, but ya let her get _kidnapped_."

Those were words that he hadn't actually meant to say- and the realization that he'd spoken them out loud was enough to make him physically recoil. Sure, he'd been thinking it, but it wasn't like he didn't understand that it wasn't something any of them had expected. He'd thought the exact same thing as Jodie, in fact- that they would be secure within their hotel rooms.

If it was anyone's fault, it was his own.

"I didn't-" Heiji began, only to find himself cut short, Jodie shaking her head.

"You're right about that." Jodie admitted, turning to face him. That he hadn't meant to say that was clear as day on his face, but it wasn't as if he were wrong. This was her failure- she already knew that the culprit had taken an interest in Heiji, and yet she hadn't taken the steps to ensure that Kazuha would be watched over.

It was her miss- and she couldn't, and _wouldn't,_ not admit that.

"I should have been keeping a closer eye on Toyama-san." Jodie told him. "For that, I apologize, Hattori-kun. I imagine that you've probably lost a degree of faith in me because of that, but we'll find her faster if we all work together. So please don't go running off on your own."

"With or without Sera-san." She added.

"...yer right." Heiji said finally, forcing himself to draw in a long breath, slowly letting it out. It helped calm the buzz in his head, if not by much. "Yer right, Jodie-han. I'm sorry. I just thought that maybe I'd be able ta get somethin' out of that old man, an' ended up draggin' Sera-han along with me."

"Still, it is true that you did find something of note." Jodie admitted, her gaze turning back towards the painting. "I'll let the others know about it right away, so that we can secure it and the building. In the meantime, we can look into what that deed you found relates to. With any luck, we might find Toyama-san there."

"Yeah." As if by instinct, Heiji felt his hand stray towards his pocket, where he had tucked Kazuha's charm away. "Luck."

He could sure use some of that about now.

"At any rate, let's get a move on already." Drawing his hand away from his pocket and turning sharply on his heel, Heiji cast a glance back towards the other two. "We can't afford ta waste time. Don't ya have ta call yer coworkers already, Jodie-han?"

"You're right." Sensing that it was a topic that he didn't want to linger on, Jodie merely let it go, instead passing the flashlight that she had borrowed from Sera back to her. "I'll contact them right away."

Pulling out her cellphone, Jodie paused for a moment, her finger hovering over the contacts button. She was sure that when she had checked her phone before entering the warehouse that there had been service, but for some reason, there wasn't any now. Taking a few steps forward, watching as the amount of bars didn't increase any at all, she felt her frown deepen.

It wasn't as if it was a big deal, she could probably just go outside to make a phone call, but for some reason, something about it nagged at her.

"Do either of you have service?" Jodie asked, taking a few more steps forward.

"Service?" Sera asked, reaching for her own cellphone to check. "No, I don't have any. What about you, Hattori-kun? Weren't you just making a phone call earlier?"

"Ah, yeah, I was. Lemme check." Blinking a little, Heiji pulled out his own, even as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle upwards. "That's odd. Doesn't look like I've got any either."

"It can't be helped. I'll make the call outside." Jodie said with a slight sigh, turning for the door. "The two of you can wait-"

To her credit, Jodie barely even missed a beat, even as she felt her heart skip one. As if by instinct, one hand strayed back to where she had concealed her gun, a cold sensation prickling at the back of her neck. The most alarming thing, really, was the fact that they had failed to notice it, when by all means, there was no way that it could have been done silently, not in a building this old.

"...I don't suppose either of you closed the door."

The sudden chill was as good enough an answer as any.


	15. Conversations with a Vampire

**AN** : Is this going to be a trend where writing one of these chapters takes a bunch of writing and rewriting? Anyways, I finally finished this chapter, so have at it I suppose! I'm a little sad I couldn't really fit in the fight scene, but it would have dragged the chapter out for longer than needed, so I decided that it would be for the best to save it for the next chapter.

Until then!

* * *

 **Bloodsport**

 **Chapter Fifteen**

 **Conversations with a Vampire**

* * *

"I don't suppose either one of you closed the door."

"No, I didn't." Shaking her head, Sera exchanged a glance with Heiji. "What about you, Hattori-kun?"

"When would I have even had the time ta?" Heiji pointed out, arching his brow, even as a tight frown set itself upon his features. "Seems like maybe we weren't as ahead of them as we thought we were."

" _We_?" Sera asked. "I believe it was because of you that we ended up here in the first place."

"Well that's-" Heiji began, only to find himself cut off.

"This is hardly the time to argue." Jodie noted, letting out a slight sigh. "The two of you stay right here. I'll check the doors."

"I wouldn't say we were _arguin_ '." Heiji muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

That the door had closed... that was odd. Not only had he sensed nothing, but he'd _heard_ nothing as well. No matter how involved he was in conversation, it wouldn't be enough to prevent him from hearing the sound of such a heavy door from closing. Hell, it wasn't only just him- even the ears of a normal human could pick that much out. It had surely made enough of one when Sera had opened it, after picking the padlock that held them shut.

And it seemed that he wasn't the only one who picked up on the strangeness of it. He didn't have to look her way to know that Sera's gaze was leveled on him, and it was all he could do to keep himself from flinching under the scrutiny of it. "You didn't notice?"

"No, not a thing." Heiji told her, shaking his head. "But neither did you."

"Well, that's fair enough." Sera admitted, tucking her hands into her pockets. "But between the two of us, I was under the impression that you had the better ears."

"Well thank ya. I take quite a degree of pride in them." Heiji told her, accepting the compliment that he knew wasn't so much meant as one. "But I can promise ya that I really didn't notice. Would have said somethin' if I had."

At the very least, he didn't sense that pressure, the same one from the underground room... though he couldn't help but be on edge. Just locking them in here didn't seem as if it would be something the culprit would do- even if it would eat up time, and keep them from locating Kazuha before...

As that thought entered his mind, for a moment, he felt his blood boil, but he fought it back, turning his head away from Sera as he bit down on his lip to keep it under control. It was only natural that he would feel antsy at the prospect of being trapped when he had a time limit to deal with, but this feeling was different from that.

...was that the culprit's plan? No, somehow he didn't think that was it. It almost seemed too simple.

"Are you alright, Hattori-kun?" Sera asked, taking a step around him, not missing the way that he seemed to draw his upper teeth back into his mouth. Even in the low light provided by her flashlight, she could still make out the sharp glint of white on either side of his mouth- was it just her imagination, or had his canines grown longer?

For just a moment, the black ring around his eyes had seemed to expand- before it had sunk back, as if reigned in. The first time she'd noticed, she'd thought her eyes had been playing tricks on her, but the odds of the same thing happening twice...

It wasn't just her imagination. She was all but sure of that now.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Heiji told her, his tone curt. "More importantly, it looks like what we should be worryin' about is gettin' out of here. How did it go, Jodie-han?"

"As I thought, they're locked tight." Jodie told them, shaking her head. "I couldn't even so much as get them to budge."

"Odd." Sera noted, resting a hand against her chin. "When I came in here, the only thing holding them closed was a padlock. I don't think that would cause them to shut so tightly. It wasn't even that hard to open."

"Maybe the culprit just wanted us ta think that." Heiji noted, folding his arms in his chest, fighting the urge to rest one hand on his sword case. For a brief moment, when they had first noticed the doors had been closed, he thought he'd felt a chill down his spine, but now, he didn't feeling anything like that.

Had it just been his imagination, then? No, somehow that didn't seem right. It must have been one of those things that locked them in here, that much he could guess. Though he couldn't feel anything now- or see anything, even in the edges of his vision, there was still a chance one of them was in here with them, waiting for a chance to strike.

Whatever the case, he didn't like this, this uncertainty. Even if the culprit's only plan was to trap them in here, just the time delay alone was enough to make him feel in a way that he didn't want to.

"It's possible." Jodie noted. "She might have guessed that we would go to her patron, and attempt to glean further information from him. If she knew that much already, she could have prepared a trap for us."

"But it's strange." Sera said. "Judging from how they were acting on the phone with Hattori-kun, it almost seemed as if they wanted to play a game with us. It's not much of a race against time if the three of us are trapped in here, is it?"

"That's true." Jodie admitted, her brows furrowing in thought. "At any rate, we should try and find another way out. Be careful, though. If this really is a trap, there could others set up within the warehouse itself."

"We didn't come across anythin' like that when we were searchin' the place." Heiji noted. "But are ya sure the doors are sealed tight, Jodie-han? Maybe ya just didn't use enough force."

"I believe I used plenty." Jodie noted, glancing up in his direction. "Would you care to try for yourself, Hattori-kun?"

"I was just thinkin' of doin' that." Heiji told her, forcing himself to flash a grin that he didn't feel that much like giving right now. "Who knows, maybe it needs just a bit of elbow grease."

It was probably a bit of a reckless idea, but as they weren't watching him directly, he'd be able to somewhat brush over the fact that he was far too strong for a normal human. Still, he didn't exactly think it would be that simple- if this really was a trap that had been designed for him, it was entirely possible that the witch had other things in store.

That might have been the reason that there had been nothing to prevent him from entering, come to think of it. With the mansion, it was the same there... if the culprit wanted to trap him, they first had to actually allow him to enter.

Make the entrance wide, and the exit narrow. He'd heard that phrase somewhere before, but at the moment, he didn't care to think much on from where.

"Alright." Jodie said, nodding her head. "In the meantime, Sera-san and I will split up, and look for another exit. Maybe we can get one of the windows on the loft level open. Is that fine with you?"

"Yes." Nodding her head, Sera's gaze flickered over towards Heiji for a moment, a hint of a frown on her features. It was obvious that he was thinking about doing something, and as much as she wanted to stick around to find out what, she couldn't do that without raising his suspicion.

They did need to be able to work together right now. It would be for the best if she acted in a way that didn't make him feel that she was onto whatever absurd secret he might be keeping to himself.

And she very much did get the feeling that it was absurd.

"Then, let's do that." Heiji told them. "If I can't get it open, I'll join ya."

"Right." Jodie said, nodding her head. "Be careful, Hattori-kun. You as well, Sera-san."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." Heiji promised her, keeping the smile on his face for as long as it took him to turn on his heel, facing away from them. Once they could no longer see his face, he let it drop.

Whatever the culprit was planning, he wouldn't let them carry it out. He would rescue Kazuha without fail.

Because if he couldn't do that...

No, no, he was going in a bad direction again. Slapping both of his cheeks, Heiji forced himself to draw in a long breath, planting himself in front of the doors. Up close to them, he couldn't really feel anything, or make out much more than the faint silhouette of light from outside that he knew came from the lamp across the way.

"Well, let's see if I can't just brute force these babies open." Heiji muttered, faintly making out the sound of Jodie and Sera splitting up and heading their separate ways.

Really though, what was the culprit planning? Right now would be a good time to use one of those invisible creatures to attack them, trapped in here as they were. He'd have a hard time explaining to Jodie why he was swinging a sword around in empty air, much less where he had even gotten one from.

Well, it wasn't like he wasn't grateful that wasn't the case, but-

He hadn't even been aware that he'd let out a cry of pain- more like a _hiss_ , really- until he heard his name being called. It had shot through him, white hot and all too familiar, momentarily overwhelming all of his other senses to the point where he hadn't even been aware that his legs had crumpled underneath him, giving way.

"Hattori-kun!" It was Jodie who reached his side first, being the closest. "What happened?"

"No, it's..." Swallowing, Heiji tried to reel in his thoughts, even as his hands still throbbed in pain. It was a familiar sensation, but at the moment, he was having trouble placing exactly where he knew it from. "...it's nothin', Jodie-han. Nothin' at all."

"That sure didn't sound like nothing." Sera noted, as she came up from behind him. "What's wrong with your hands?"

A good question, seeing as he hadn't even checked yet. Even without doing so, from the pain alone, he could already gather that it was doubtlessly an unpleasant sight. It felt as if the flesh on his hands had been seared right of, as if he had...

...so that was it. That was why it felt so familiar.

"Nothin'." Heiji said quickly, shoving his hands into his pockets, ignoring the way the fibers of his jeans picked at the burns. "I just got a bit of a static shock, that's all."

Not only was there now way he could explain his silver burns to them, there was also no way that he would be able to explain why he couldn't go to a hospital for them, which they would surely want to do, as soon as they got out of here. He'd be able to explain even less as to how they would heal so quickly and completely, putting him in a situation that he very much didn't want to be in.

"Static shock?" Sera asked, her tone skeptical. "Sure didn't sound that way."

"I can assure ya, that's all." Heiji told her, trying to rise to his feet as casually as possible. It was an obvious lie, but as long as he could keep them from seeing his hands until they healed, they worst of it could be avoided. "More importantly, it doesn't look like I'll be able ta open this door either."

Silver. He'd been aware that it had a rather metallic gleam, but he hadn't thought that it would have been silver. Not just the handles, either- from the looks of it, the entire door was composed of silver.

No way that was a coincidence. Was that witch trying to expose him?

...no, somehow that didn't sound quite like it was enough. But what... what was she trying to accomplish here? There must be some reason she was trying to trap him in here with the two of them, but what...

The sting from the pit of his stomach was the answer.

Though he had properly fed the previous night, before he even realized it, it would seem that he was thirsty once again. It wasn't so strong that he couldn't control it, but going forward, it would only become more of a problem- especially since he would need to draw on that same energy in order to heal. If were to remain locked up in here with them...

He'd never once thought of himself as a monster, and even now, still didn't- but he _really_ didn't want to find out what would happen if he found himself blood starved.

"Hattori-kun, if you injured yourself, you need to let us-" Jodie began.

"Like I said," Heiji cut her off, raising his voice. For the moment, it wasn't anything that he couldn't control. They'd just have to find another way out before things got tricky. "...it's really nothin'! Ya can't even take me at face value, Jodie-han?"

She didn't believe a word he said, that much was clear- but perhaps in response to the glare he was leveling at her, it would seem that she had decided to leave the matter be. Letting out a short sigh, Jodie merely exchanged a glance with Sera, nodding her head. "Then, let's search for a way out together."

Not entirely able to formulate a response, Heiji merely gave her a curt nod of his head. It would be awhile before his thirst would be anything that he would have to worry about- but more important than that, there was the deadline hanging over Kazuha's head. Nearly half a day had passed already, almost in the flash of an eye.

The longer he kept Kazuha hanging, the less he could forgive himself for it. It was his fault that she'd-

...no good. More negativity. Really, what was up with him lately? This way of thinking wasn't like him at all. Was it just because of the stress that he was under that he found himself feeling this way, or did it have something to do with that flower after all?

Either way, he didn't like it. He had to hurry up and find her, so that he could bring the culprit to justice, and return everything to normal already.

Or as _normal_ as they were ever going to be.

"Then, if you find anything, give a shout." Jodie instructed. "And once again," her gaze shifting to Heiji as she spoke, she leveled it very deliberately on him. "... _be careful_."

"Understood." Once again forcing himself to give a smile that he didn't feel like, Heiji drew in a long breath. He might not need it, but it did help stabilize him some- and more than anything, that was what he needed right now.

He'd thought he'd gotten ahead of the witch- but it looked as if he had simply waltzed right into her trap. Kazuha was right- he _really_ was an idiot.

* * *

" _Heiji!_ "

As if she wasn't the one in distress herself, the first word that she gasped out once she found herself free of the gag was that idiot's name.

She wasn't trying to call out to him. There was no way he'd be able to hear her, not even with all of his increased senses. It was just...

...just for a moment, she had felt an overwhelming surge of fear in her chest.

Not for herself, even as the water began to lap at her knees, but for the one who was without a doubt, frantically looking for her right now. She didn't know what it was, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible had happened- or was about to happen.

And there was nothing she could do about it.

Shutting her eyes tight, Kazuha drew in a long breath, as much of one as she could manage. Some might call her foolish, for worrying about someone else when she was in such peril herself, but right now, she felt more fear for Heiji than she did for herself.

Swallowing, Kazuha worked to steady her own heartbeat. She'd just have to have faith in him, in that idiot.

"...please be safe, Heiji."

* * *

For a moment, he thought as if he could hear her calling his name.

It was only just his imagination, of course. There was no way that she could be here. He'd have heard her for sure were that the case, that distinctive sound of her heartbeat, one that he had come to memorize.

"Is something wrong, Hattori-kun?" Sera's voice caught his attention, long after the sound of her footsteps had. "Well, other than what's wrong with your hands, that is."

"Like I said, there's nothin' wrong with my hands." Heiji said, narrowing his eyes. "An' it's nothin'. Just thought I heard somethin', but seems like it was just my imagination."

"Imagination, huh?" Sera asked, lifting a brow. "Kind of like it was my imagination that you screamed?"

"Well, though to be honest, it really wasn't much of a scream. More of a hiss." Sera added, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm impressed. I didn't think a human being could produce a sound like that."

"Never said it was yer imagination." Heiji said, letting out a sharp sigh. He seriously wasn't in the mood for this. "Just that it wasn't that serious. An' sorry, fer makin' weird sounds. Did ya just come up here ta hassle me or what, Sera-han?"

"Not at all." Sera said, shaking her head. "You don't need to be hostile, Hattori-kun. We're working together on this, aren't we?"

"That's right." Heiji noted, heaving a sigh, sensing that she wasn't going to go away any time soon. "What do ya want then, Sera-han? If it's fer me ta spill-"

"No, that's not it." Sera said, shaking her head. "But I see you're at least admitting you have a secret."

"Ya've pretty much figured that part out anyways." Heiji noted, keeping his tone curt. "An' I'm not really in the mood ta pretend otherwise right now."

"Fair enough." Sera said. "You're worried that we won't get out of here in time, aren't you?"

"Like I said, do ya have a reason as ta why ya came over ta bother me?" Heiji asked, shooting her a sour look. "Cause if ya figured that much out already, I'd think ya'd be better served helpin' ta look for another way out rather than botherin' me."

"Sorry, sorry." Holding up her hands, Sera took half a step back- she couldn't say that she didn't understand why she was being glared at, but that still was a rather impressive one. "I just wanted to ask if you were sure that we're..."

"...alone in here?" Heiji finished for her, letting out a long sigh. "Ya don't feel anythin', do ya?"

"No." Sera told him, shaking her head. "But when we first found the doors had been sealed-"

"...ya did?" Heiji finished, watching as she nodded her head. "Yeah, same. It's been kind of botherin' me, but if another one of those things comes out, I'll just deal with it like I did the last one. If it's hidin' in here somewhere, it might be waitin' until we try ta leave ta stop us, like it did last time."

"True." Sera noted. "I considered that much as well. But are you sure? Given my own close encounter, of course I believe it's real, but as for Jodie-san..."

"I'll cross that hurdle when I get ta it." Heiji noted, frowning as he pressed his hand up against one of the sealed windows. Letting out a sigh of relief as they didn't burn, he flinched, realizing that he was trying to hide his hands from them at the moment, quickly shoving it back into his pocket.

If she'd seen anything, Sera didn't say anything.

"Think we can get one of them open?" Sera asked, pressing against the frame herself.

"We probably could, but it's a bit of a drop, straight down onto concrete, an' it doesn't seem there's anythin' that be climbed down with lyin' around. S'not safe." Heiji recalled. "I'd probably be fine-"

Cutting himself off mid-sentence, he almost couldn't even dredge up the concern for saying too much at this point. Maybe this would all be easier if he just told them straight out that he was a vampire, and got it over with.

And if Jodie weren't a member of the FBI, he might actually consider it.

"You're pretty hardy, for someone whose supposed to be sick." Sera noted, arching her brows. "You could always make the jump yourself, and open the doors from that end."

"Well," shrugging her shoulders, she took a step back, removing herself from arm's length, a fact which was not lost on Heiji, "...it would be bad if you burned yourself again, though."

Fingers trailing over the remaining burns left on his palms, Heiji's gaze shifted slightly in her direction, trying and failing to gauge what her expression meant. Had she really just come up here to ask him about how he was feeling, or had she already...?

"Ya saw, then." Heiji said, shifting his gaze back away from her, pulling his hands out of his pockets. They stung as he pressed them against the window frame, but he ignored the pain- compared to the pain from earlier, it wasn't anything he couldn't deal with. "Ya got somethin' ta say ta me, Sera-han?"

"No." Sera said, shaking her head. "Not now anyways."

"Is beatin' around the bush a hobby of yers?" Heiji asked, taking a step back.

"Given the choice, I prefer to be more direct." Sera said simply. "But I am capable of tact when needed."

"Well cut it out, it's annoyin'." Heiji said, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"Well? Could you tear it off?" Sera asked.

"Yeah, probably." Seeing no reason to lie, Heiji merely nodded his head. "But ya made a good point either. Even if I got outside, if I can't open up the doors, that means I'd leave the two of ya trapped in here, least fer as long as it took fer help ta arrive."

And he _still_ wasn't convinced that what was keeping the doors shut was something as simple as a lock.

"So you're saying you'd run off without us?" Sera asked.

There was a slight pause then, Heiji's gaze trailing back towards her, not quite meeting her eyes. "Right now, I would."

"Because of Kazuha-chan?" Sera asked. "Or perhaps it's because of something else?"

"I thought ya said ya weren't gonna ask me questions like that right now." Heiji pointed out, tilting his head. "Both, though."

"Well, I wouldn't blame you." Sera said, shrugging her shoulders. "Jodie-san would probably be pretty mad, though."

"True." Heiji admitted. "An' if that thing really is around here..."

"I fought it off with my Jeet Kune Do last time, don't you remember?" Sera asked. "I might not be able to see it, but it's obviously vulnerable to physical attack. Well, even so, I guess I wouldn't be able to make it disappear like you apparently can."

"I doubt it would be as easy as shaking it off this time." Heiji noted. "An' there's probably more than one of those things. If they're connected ta the simultaneous accidents of that painter lady's students, there's no way there's not."

"...well that's an unpleasant thought." Sera admitted after a moment. "Well? What are you going to do then, Hattori-kun? Whatever it is, I'm not about to stop you. The feeling of wanting to save someone important to you... I can understand it, you know."

"Because of yer dead brother?" Heiji asked, deciding that if she was going to ask questions of him, he might as well ask one of his own.

"Yes." Sera admitted frankly. "But this isn't about me. It's about you, Hattori-kun."

Letting out a faint snort at that, Heiji rested a hand against the window again, fingers drumming against the metal plate that it had been bolted shut with. "From the way that yer puttin' it, ya make it sound like I'm the one the culprit wants."

"Aren't you?" Sera said simply. "Right from the start, the one that they've been displaying clear interest in is you."

She wasn't wrong, not when he really thought about. As far back as when they had received the sixth painting, something that almost felt like a lifetime ago, the culprit had seemed to be interested in him. He wished that he could claim he knew why, but that was yet another thing that was alluding him.

"So?" Heiji asked, turning on his heel. "What's yer point, Sera-han?"

"I said I wouldn't stop you if you wanted to go on your own, but I will say this, at least." Sera told him. "Doesn't it seem an awful lot like the culprit wants you on your own?"

Wait. Now that she mentioned it...

"But why?" Heiji asked, arching a brow.

"I can't answer that." Sera said, shaking her head. "If you shared your information with me, maybe I could make a few guesses, but all I can say that if it seems like it's what they want, then you probably shouldn't give it to them. I mean, think about- if this warehouse is a trap, what if the one written about in the deed is a trap too?"

"You hadn't thought about that, had you?" Sera asked, frowning slightly as she met his eyes.

"Of course I-!" Heiji began, before withdrawing, his gaze dropping from hers. "Actually, ta be frank, Sera-han, I haven't really been thinkin' all that straight lately."

It was the truth- if he'd been thinking straight, he would have realized that the deed that had been left behind could be some kind of trap already, rather than needing to have it pointed out to him. Pressing a hand against his forehead, Heiji drew in a long breath, trying to steady the static fuzz that had been clouding up his thoughts ever since Kazuha had first been abducted- to very little avail.

"Something's wrong with me."

He hadn't meant to say it out loud- and though he'd barely said it in a voice louder than a whisper, it would seem that Sera wasn't lying about having good ears of her own.

"I did think that something was." Sera told him. "But I didn't want to say anything in case I was mistaken. Do you want to talk about it, Hattori-kun?"

"...no." Pulling his hand away from his head, Heiji tucked it into his pocket. "Rather not."

"I see." Sera said simply- and for a moment, a silence fell between the two. "In that case, why don't you rely on me a little bit more, Hattori-kun?"

There was another pause then, Heiji's gaze flickering over towards her, seeming to almost study her for a moment. Taking a step forward, he closed the already rather short distance between the two of them, so that she could feel his breath on her face.

Or the lack of it, really.

As she thought, he really was...

"What do ya know, Sera-han?" He asked of her- and within such a short distance, there was no way that she could mistake the curve of his canines for anything else. "About me?"

"That's easy." The impression that she got from him was not one of intimidation- if anything, it was the opposite of that.

Fear, she thought.

"You're a vampire, right?"

For a long moment, she almost thought she wouldn't get an answer. Until finally, Heiji took a step back, forcing out a breath. "...when did ya figure it out?"

"To tell you the truth, I had my doubts, right up until you admitted to it." Sera confessed. "I wouldn't have thought that they could have existed, at least not before today."

"An' today?" Heiji asked.

"Today I've seen all sorts of crazy things." Sera told him, shrugging her shoulders. "Compared to that, a vampire almost seems normal."

"Well, that's true." Heiji admitted. "Ya'd think that even more if ya actually saw that thing, back in that basement room."

"What is it, anyways?" Sera asked. "You know, don't you?"

"'Fraid not." Heiji told her, shaking his head. "Some kind of spirit, or ghost. I think at the very least it used ta be alive at some point, but more than that, I can't really say. Well, the good news is that I can use this sword to slay them, if ya want ta put it that way."

"What, are you a detective or an exorcist?" Sera asked, arching a brow.

"Guess I'm fallin' into a bit of both lately." Unable to help himself, Heiji cracked a smile, the static in his head almost seeming to clear- if only just for a moment. The tension that had been contained within his shoulders had grown lighter, that much was true. "Though it's not really a lifestyle I pictured fer myself."

"Heh." Sera said, tilting her head. "In other words, you haven't always been a vampire, have you?"

"No." Shaking his head, Heiji told her that much. "Up until half a year ago, I was a proper human, ya know."

"That's too bad. It would have been interesting if your father was a vampire too." Sera noted, making note of the almost sour expression that settled over his face as she brought up the man.

"How'd ya figure, anyways?" Heiji asked.

"I am a detective, you know." Sera told him. "And to be honest, you're not that great at lying, Hattori-kun. Given how lousy you are at covering your tracks, I can believe that you haven't been one for very long."

"Shut up. I can keep a secret if I try, ya know." Heiji told her, his brows knitting together. "Besides, what about ya? Yer not afraid of me, are ya?"

The bark of laughter that escaped from her managed to somehow be both reassuring, and also entirely uncalled for. Shaking her head, Sera folded her arms in front of her chest, giving him a proper smile this time. "Not at all. You're not scary at all, Hattori-kun."

To be honest, he didn't want to admit how badly he needed to hear that right now.

Though it would have probably meant more were it to come from someone who had witnessed _that_.

"Hey, I can be scary if I try, ya know." Covering up such feelings with bristly offense, Heiji narrowed his eyes. "Anyways, regardless of what I am, we do need ta focus on gettin' out of here."

"And thinking about why it is that the culprit seems to want you alone?" Sera asked.

"No," closing his eyes, Heiji turned on his heel, hoping to mask his expression somewhat, "...if it's that, I'm already startin' ta get an idea."

And it wasn't one that he liked. Really, it was probably a good thing that Sera had followed him up here to speak with him- otherwise, he might be falling into the culprit's trap right now.

Well, he couldn't honestly say if he was on the right track or not. His load had lightened, but the static fuzz of his thoughts hadn't entirely vanished. Still, it was better than it had been before- not as insistent as it had been, giving him space to actually _think_ , rather than just react.

He would put it to good use.

"Just so ya know, our culprit's a witch." Heiji told her, opening his eyes, turning back on his heel. "An' don't give me that look. What, ya can admit vampires are real, but not witches?"

...well, he'd done more or less the same thing himself, so maybe he shouldn't really talk.

"Ah, no, it's just..." Sera trailed off, holding up her hands. "Magic?"

"Yeah, magic." Heiji told her. "Ya saw it too, didn't ya? That huge circle back in that underground room? That's black magic, apparently."

"Black magic, huh...?" Sera mused, a hand straying up to her chin. "But for what reason would a witch murder people?"

"Don't know." Heiji admitted, shaking his head. "I haven't figured that part out myself. As long as we can catch her, and make sure she never commit another murder ever again, I suppose it doesn't really matter."

"That's true." Sera said, her brows furrowing. In truth, it all still sounded so absurd to her- but given the gravity with which Heiji was speaking, she couldn't find it in herself to doubt him.

"An' there's one more thing." Heiji told her. "Our culprit's not Caroline Hayden."

"Eh?" Unable to keep the surprise off her face, Sera blinked. "But back at the hotel, you said..."

"Yeah, I did say that." Heiji said, nodding his head. "It's true that her body's the one bein' used in the murders, but the real Caroline Hayden was probably killed eight years ago."

"Eight...?" As a look of understanding dawned across her face, Heiji's eyes narrowed. "You can't mean?"

"Yeah. Our culprit isn't the daughter." He told her.

"It's the mother."

Judging from the cold chill that crept down the back of his spine, it didn't seem that this was information that she wanted spread around.


End file.
